The Sisters of Stand By Me
by StandByMe4ever787
Summary: Imagine: what it be like with two sisters, one who is friends with our boys and one who hangs with the Cobras during the discovery of Ray Brower's body? As the love of the oldest sister sets, the youngest one's rises. not marysue i think
1. Want to go see a dead body?

A/N: Hey guys! I wanted to start a new story, and…stuff. So this is chapter 1, of course…..god, there isn't really anything to say for the first chapter, so yeah. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own it, not mine, wish it was, but it's not, only the plot and the sisters are mine. Not Chris Chambers…damnit.

"How do you know a Frenchmen's been in your backyard?" Chris Chambers questioned.

"Hey, I'm French, ok?" Teddy Duchamp replied, annoyed.

"Your garbage cans are empty and your dog is pregnant," Chris answered for himself, and after a quick moment of silence, he burst into laughter with his best friend Gordie Lachance, who was sitting at his left side.

"Didn't I just say I was French?" Teddy asked, like his two friends were stupid.

Chris rolled his eyes. "I knock. 29."

"22."

"Piss up a rope!" Gordie shouted, and threw his cards down onto the box table with defeat.

Now, it was Teddy's turn to laugh. That awful, cheap, but hysterical laugh.

"Ehehehee! Gordie's out! Ole Gordie just bit the bag and stepped out the door! Eheheheehee-"

"Come on man, deal," Chris ordered.

While Teddy began to deal, several complicated forms of knocking issued from below on the door to the treehouse.

"Who's there?" Gordie called out.

"General Andy Suther, at your humble service!" a girl's southern voice came.

"Pssh, more like the soldiers' nurse," Teddy let out.

"Yeah, and your dream of me taking care of you on the battle field faded when Gordie confessed his undying love to you, and you turned gay," the girl countered.

"HEY!" Gordie and Teddy shouted in unison, and Chris cackled evilly.

The girl climbed up into the treehouse, sat down next to Gordie and smirked.

"Not my fault you're different."

"_Andrica_, you are such a slippery devil."

"_Theodore_, shut your fucking mouth."

Gordie smiled brightly at the girl next to him.

(Andy's POV)

I'm Andrica Suther, but who the hell would want to be called _that_? So, Mr. Chambers invented the nickname Andy, and it just sounds so much more like me, so I go by that. I moved from Birmingham, Alabama to Castle Rock, Oregon when I was nine, now I'm thirteen going on fourteen. And I don't think I could have been happier. I was raised up to be the proper southern girl: lacy dresses with large hoops skirts, white dressy shoes, that oh so charming accent, the works. But once I moved, all I've got now is my accent, which mixes beautifully with the curse words that roll off my tongue, or so my boys tell me.

Oh, my boys, how I love them so! The four of them are a year younger than me, but frankly, I don't really give a rat's ass. They are so much better than the guys in my year. Firstly, I think they wanted to hang out with me because I'm the most tomboyish in Castle Rock. I wear ripped up jeans, baggy shirts over tank tops, black converse, and hair in a high ponytail, all of that stuff. The boys think I'm actually very pretty, but I really don't see how. I've got dark auburn colored hair that reaches the middle of my back that I usually wear in a ponytail. I'm pretty physically mature for my age, but definitely not in terms of what's going on inside my head. My eyes are a light, fluttery sort of blue, a soft snowy hue. And, I'm so lanky. God, my role would be "The beanstalk" in Jack and the Beanstalk. You know, that old tale with Jack and the beans and the giant….I wouldn't be the giant because I'm not fat. Then again, I'm not really all that skinny. I'm no Gordie Lachance, that's for sure. That boy is tall, but he's so thin. But hey, he's still cute. Well, what I mean is, Gordie and the rest of the guys are all cute. Girls would be all over them if they weren't so immature. But they're twelve, so, I say live it while you can. And I do that with them. I mean, people look at me and frown, but I don't really care. I'm still a kid, and I'm going to enjoy these years. My friends are like this too, they understand what friendship means. Well….at least Gordie and Chris do. I'm into those types of emotional things. But once I start rambling about my celebrity loves, I get an, "EW!" from Vern, a "Well, umm…wow." from Gordie, a "Good luck with that." from Chris, and of course the "Andy, you lovesick puppy, do you have anything better to do than to confess your stupid undying love for Buddy Holly, who died a couple of years ago? What I'm trying to say, is that you're fucking sick." from Teddy. I love those guys, I really fucking do.

I'm generally a nice girl, I guess. If you piss me off, you can consider yourself another slice of meat hanging in the slaughterhouse. Well…that's not a nice way to put it is it, since Chris is a vegetarian and all. But anyway, yeah, consider yourself dead. The only ones I wouldn't hurt would be the boys. They'd never hurt me, at least not on purpose. My parents are all strict and proper, and I want to get away. But when I think about it, they love me. And it's a shame, because I know I don't deserve the love like Gordie, Chris, and Teddy do. But my sister….oh god. I won't even start.

"I knock," Teddy said.

Chris stared at him with disgust and accused, "You four-eyed pile of shit!"

"A pile of shit has a _thousand _eyes!" Teddy exclaimed mystically, as if it were something to awe at.

Silence came over them for a minute, but then Gordie, Chris, and Andy snickered loudly.

"Hey, what's so funny? I've got twenty, what have you got?" Teddy shot at Chris.

"Sixteen!" Chris wheezed through his laughter.

Suddenly, more knocks issued from below.

"That's not the secret knock," Gordie said all-knowingly.

"Well I forget the secret knock, let me in!" a voice confessed.

The four looked around at each other with exasperated looks.

"Vern," they all said in unison.

Chris and Teddy lifted up the box table and Vern scrambled up into the treehouse.

"Oh man, you guys are not going to believe this. This is so boss. Wait'll you hear this, wait'll you hear this. You won't believe it. It's unbelievable!" Vern panted quickly, "Let me catch my breath. I ran all the way from my house."

Chris leaned into the other three occupants of the treehouse and started, "I ran all the way home!"

Teddy and Gordie joined in, but Andy stayed out of the trio of horrible singers and rolled her eyes. So immature.

"Fine, I don't have to tell you guys nothing!" Vern dared.

"Alright you guys hold up," Chris ordered, placing his hand out towards the other two boys, "What is it man?"

"Great, you won't believe this, sincerely-"

"I ran all the way home!" the three boys chorused.

"Screw you guys, forget it!"

"What is it?" Chris asked with a laugh.

"Can you guys camp out in my backfield tonight?" Vern asked anxiously.

"I guess so," Chris answered, "But I don't know, my dad's kind of on a mean streak lately…"

Andy looked down at her converse. She wished she could change the way her best friend's father hit him and beat him and drank until he couldn't even lift the beer bottle. Chris was the toughest person she knew, but she also knew that nobody could handle their own father abusing them. Chris always tossed it aside like it was no big deal, but deep down, Andy knew that Chris was always holding back his emotions.

"You've got to man, sincerely!" Vern exclaimed, "I can't believe this, can you Gordie?"

"Yeah, probably," Gordie responded in a bored tone, flipping through a detective magazine.

Again, another person Andy felt sorry for. Her other best friend. She couldn't even begin to comprehend what Gordie had to be feeling, what with his parents ignoring him and his brother Denny dead….Gordie had a rough life that to him seemed like he had to get through it alone. Andy always thought Gordie had a miserable family life.

"So what are you pissing and moaning about Verno?" Teddy asked, tired of waiting.

"I knock," Chris informed.

"WHAT?" Teddy shouted, "You liar, you ain't got no pat hand! You didn't deal yourself no pat hand!"

"Make your draw, shitheap," Chris said and smirked.

"You guys want to go see a dead body?" Vern asked with an odd, somber touch to his voice.

Everyone froze.

Jane Suther broke away from an intense kiss with Ace Merrill.

"God Ace," Jane said breathlessly, placing a hand to her heart.

"That's pretty much what every girl says after I do something with her," Ace replied arrogantly, "Now come on, we're meeting up with Eyeball at Irvy's."

"The pool hall?" Jane asked unbelievably, "Do I have to?"

"Yes, and yes," Ace answered simply and grabbed her arm, "Into the car. Now."

Jane sighed and let Ace drag her into the passenger seat of the car. Ace got into the driver's seat and immediately began to speed down the road. This didn't bother Jane much, as Ace always sped, and she looked out into the town around her.

(Jane's POV)

My name is Jane Suther. I use to be someone. And now I'm not. I'm a senior at Castle Rock High once the summer is over. I'm a girl who dyed her hair blonde from red and now smokes and drinks. But the one thing I'm not anymore is Denny Lachance's girlfriend.

Denny. Dennis. I loved him. He was the man of my dreams, coming to take me away from my proper southern family and heritage, and we would go wherever we wanted. But not anymore. I use to be a perfect girl, with perfect friends, perfect looks, perfect grades, perfect boyfriend. But not anymore.

Now, since Denny Lachance's death, I've chummed around with the Cobras: the most vicious, dangerous, and stupid group of teenage dropouts in Castle Rock. I'm apart of their group, but they didn't want to give me their official ensign: the tattoo of, a cobra, how creative. I've gone from little miss perfect to trailer trash because of my boyfriend's death. Weird how things work that way, huh? But I don't care. I'm happy. My best friends are now Ace Merrill and Eyeball Chambers. They are both so hilarious. And idiotic. But they make me happy. It's like I'm clinging onto them to survive.

The one person who makes me regret this sudden turnaround is my little thirteen year old sister, Andrica (Andy) Suther. She's a good kid pretty much, but a royal pain in the ass. She tries to tell me what's best for myself and others, and it's sweet of her to give advice, and it makes me feel bad, but frankly I don't give a shit. It's a real shame that her best friend is Gordie Lachance, Denny's younger brother, because honestly, Gordie is the one who should have died, not Denny. Gordie doesn't amount to Denny, bottom line.

"Hey you two, finished early with your make out session?" Eyeball Chambers greeted Jane and Ace.

Ace looked at Eyeball and blinked. "Shut the hell up. And yes, we decided to see you since we finished early. Be grateful."

The three strutted into Irvy's Billiards and Jane watched Ace and Eyeball challenge each other.

"Can I play one round?" Jane inquired.

"Try no," Eyeball answered.

"Oh come on, _Richard_, I could kick your ass to hell and back!" Jane teased.

"Alright, let's see you try!"

"Let's see me try and succeed, you mean," Jane corrected arrogantly.

She was just about to shoot a perfect Q ball when Ace's voice distracted her.

"Well, well, well, look who's walking down the street in our territory!"

Jane turned her head towards the window. Strolling along the sidewalk was Gordie Lachance and Chris Chambers.

"Perfect," Eyeball commented with a wide smirk.


	2. Starting the Journey

A/N: Thanks for reviewing! I hope I get more reviewers soon too!

Disclaimer: Stand By Me is NOT mine, no matter what! And the song 'That'll be the Day' was written and sung by Buddy Holly.

**Chapter 2: Starting the Journey **

"Are you telling me you want to verbally attack Chris Chambers and Gordie Lachance because they are walking?" Jane asked incredulously.

"Hmm….yeah, pretty much," Ace answered, pretending to think hard on the subject.

"I'll go out first!" Eyeball volunteered cheerfully, and immediately exited the pool hall.

"I don't want to do this," Jane instantly confessed to Ace.

"Whatever," Ace said, bored, and stepped out.

Jane directly jogged to the window, where she could witness what was about to happen.

"Hey girls, where you goin'?" Eyeball asked friendly, as if they were best friends.

As Eyeball and Ace passed the two younger boys, Ace swooped Gordie's, formerly Denny's, Yankee cap off of his head, exposing his black hair. Gordie immediately whipped around, an irate and distraught expression on his face.

"Hey my brother gave me that hat!" Gordie informed angrily.

"Well, now you're giving it to me," Ace replied with a smirk, and held up the hat for Gordie to reach.

Gordie jumped high into the air, swiping at his hat, but Ace always lifted it up higher with each try, grinning maliciously all the while.

"Give it to me!" Gordie ordered, "Come on man, it's mine!"

Gordie grabbed at Ace's arm, which made Ace reach out and push Gordie away with his shirt.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?" Chris said casually, but his face was contorted into an expression of loathing.

Ace let go of Gordie and his eyes switched over to Chris, beginning to walk towards him, while Chris backed away slowly.

"Ooh, your brother's not very polite, Eyeball," Ace reported, dropping his cigarette on the ground.

"Oh now Christopher," Eyeball cooed, "I know you didn't mean to insult my friend."

Chris stopped backing away, and Ace was close up in his face.

"I know he didn't mean to insult me," Ace told Eyeball, but was looking straight at his friend's little brother, "That's why I'm going to give him the opportunity of taking it back."

Chris stayed absolutely silent as Ace stared at him intensely, waiting for an apology of some sort. After getting tired of waiting, Ace roughly grabbed a hold of Chris and slammed him onto the concrete, pushing his head harder and harder against it. Jane watched in horror, but knew she couldn't do anything about it. Besides, it _was_ the worst Chambers in that whole family. Surely this was nothing compared to what he got at his house.

"Ok, ok, I take it back, I take it back!" Chris exclaimed in pain, just as Ace was about to feed him his cigarette. Ace threw the cigarette, and almost gracefully lifted himself and Chris back to a standing position.

"There," Ace said reassuringly with a smirk, "Now I feel a whole lot better about this. How about you? Good."

And after giving Gordie a friendly slap on the side of his neck, he turned around and sauntered off.

"See you later girls," Eyeball told them, and followed Ace, Gordie's hat on his head.

Jane instantly rushed out of the pool hall and faced the younger boys. They stared at her, with what looked like blank expressions, but on the inside, their intestines were burning with hatred. Why should they even talk to her? She hadn't avenged Denny, to Gordie it almost felt like she was getting revenge on him for not dying instead of Denny by hanging out with the Cobras. She was also Andy's older sister. And they were practically mortal enemies…and they lived in the same house, just like Chris and Eyeball.

Jane raised her eyebrows at them in a snobbish way, and then caught up to her two friends.

"Oh Ace, you were great! About time you did something to my brother!" Eyeball praised.

"Well, your brother needs to learn to shut his fucking trap once in awhile. Doesn't he know it could cost him his life one of these days?"

"What?" Jane asked, although she had heard Ace clearly.

"Nothing," Ace said rudely.

The three passed a garbage can, and Eyeball took off the hat and was about to toss it in there. Jane stared at it.

"Hey Eyeball?"

"What?" Eyeball asked, annoyed.

Jane gave a weak smile and questioned timidly, trying to hold back tears and pointing to the hat, "Can I have that?"

"So you almost got ended up smushed into the sidewalk?" Andy asked, interested, "Like one of those stupid graffiti concrete things?"

"Yeah. That's basically it."

Andy had met up with Gordie and Chris at the treehouse and now the three of them were going to get to the train tracks and meet up with Teddy and Vern and start the journey that would change them forever.

"God, that makes me want to punch my sister really hard in her chest…..then it will actually prove that her boobs are fake," Andy added bitterly.

Chris and Gordie burst into laughter.

"Oh come on, are you jealous because your sister has bigger tits than you?" Chris asked unbelievably, "It must be the cons of being thirteen."

"Shut up!" Andy commanded, not finding this a funny situation.

"Ah Andy, don't worry about it, you've got a nice rack," Gordie…err…complimented.

Andy smiled inwardly and blushed, not a very common thing for her.

"HAHA you made Andy blush, way to go Gordo!" Chris cheered.

"Well, if you boys don't want your heads looking permanently deflated, I suggest that you keep those holes in your face shut," Andy threatened, clenching her fists.

Gordie and Chris instantly stopped their laughing and closed their mouths. They both knew that Andy was not the type of person you wanted to fuck around with. But as the boys picked up their pace, leaving Andy to trail behind them, she smiled a wide, satisfied, but most of all, surprised smile. What Gordie said was very weird for him, very abnormal. Sure, he was into all of that 'OH A GIRL!' stuff like the other boys, but just not as much, especially not as much as Teddy. Besides, Andy had a crush on Gordie. Ugh, how she hated that word. It was so stupid, and it didn't exactly describe her situation up to key. If it was anything, it was definitely something small she had for him, of course besides her friendship. But that was the thing that was in the way. How were you supposed to tell your best friend for four years that you loved him? Mostly when Andy was with Gordie she ignored the leaping emotion that ran through her heart, and just acted like she did before she had the 'crush' on him. But it was when she was away from him that was worse, she didn't know how, but it was.

"Andy, FYI! YOU MOVE TOO FRICKN SLOW!"

She instantly looked up and saw that all four of her boys were on the train tracks, looking at her with their heads cocked in thought over her thoughts. Teddy was the only exception.

"Hurry up!" he shouted.

Andy jogged over and flashed him a smile. His face immediately became set, his hands on his hips, and his foot still tapping from waiting for her impatiently.

"Oh don't be such a girl, Teddy," Andy scolded, followed by Chris, Gordie, and Vern's laughter, and Teddy's mouth forming a perfect, prissy 'O'.

"Alright guys, just to warn you, I brought a gun," Chris said, while giggling.

Vern and Andy stopped snickering together and Teddy raised his eyebrows in question.

"What do we need a gun for anyways?" Vern asked.

"It's spooky sleeping out at night in the woods," Chris confessed, and he would be the only to do it and not be made fun of, "We might see a bear….or a garbage can."

The five chuckled briefly and then went down the tracks in silence for a few minutes, until Vern couldn't take it anymore.

"I brought a comb," Vern informed proudly.

"What do we need a comb for?" Chris asked, amused.

"Hey, we need a comb if we wanna look good on TV, don't we?" Vern questioned, hurt over Chris's amusement for what he thought was a brilliant idea, more brilliant than brining the gun.

"That's a lot of thinkin' Vern," Gordie praised with a smile.

"Thanks!"

Teddy suddenly flashed his hand in front of Vern's face and he recoiled.

"Heh, two for flinchin'!" Teddy exclaimed, and then hit Vern hard twice on the arm.

Soon, they all came to a stop and stared down the tracks. They wondered what would await the five down the tracks, what would change and what would stay the same about them. Andy shivered lightly, even though it was the hottest day in August since 1902. She was curious but scared about thinking of that poor Brower kid, but more than anything, she felt sick when she thought about his corpse…just lying there, possibly under the shade of a tree, insects making their way in and out, what he looked like, if his eyes were open in surprise over the chugging vehicle that led to his premature death…

"How long do you think it's going to be?" Teddy asked.

Chris gave a sigh. "Well, if we follow the train tracks all the way into Harlow it'll be about twenty miles," he considered, "Sound about right to you Gordie?"

"Yeah," Gordie, who hadn't said anything in awhile, breathed, "Yeah, it might even be thirty."

"Jesus man, we should just hitchhike," Vern put in.

The rest of the group shook their heads and started off down the tracks.

"No way, that sucks," Teddy protested.

"Why not? We could take route 137 to Shiloh Church, and then down the Back Harlow Road, we'd be there by sundown!" Vern suggested.

"That's pussy!" Teddy declared.

"Hey, it's a long ways," Vern admitted.

"Did your mother ever have any kids that lived?" Teddy sniffed, dignified.

"What do you mean?" Vern questioned.

Andy placed her hands to her ears. Three minutes into what was going to be a lengthy, exhausting walk, and she already was tired of Vern's utter stupidity. It was going to be long journey.

"Have gun will travel reach the-"

"No, not Paladin!" Andy griped.

"Then what do YOU want to sing, dear Andy?" asked Gordie.

After not receiving a reply, the four boys began to walk in a horizontal line, Vern next to Gordie, Gordie next to Teddy, Teddy next to Chris. Everything was silent, until-

"Well that'll be the day, when you say goodbyeee, yes that'll be the day, when you make me cryyy, you say you're gonna leave, you know it's a lie, cuz, that'll be the daaay when I die!" Andy crooned awfully, "Well that'll be the day…OOHOO, that'll be the day…. OOHOO!" And then she obnoxiously slapped all four of them on the back in time to the beat of where the drums were supposed to be, giving Gordie the extra drum beat by hitting him over the head.

"Ouch!"

"God, I LOVE that song!" Andy exclaimed joyously, ignoring Gordie's outburst of pain, "When I get to heaven, I'm going to ask Buddy Holly where he got the inspiration to write it."

"What if he went to hell?" Teddy said sourly with a wicked grin, trying to spoil Andy's fun.

"Then you ask him," Andy answered casually, causing Chris and Gordie to start cackling like the mad men they are.

"I…I don't get it. If Buddy Holly went to hell, then how is Teddy supposed to ask him since Teddy is on earth?"

"URGH, it's the thing called a fucking _joke_, Vern," Chris responded, gritting his teeth in frustration.

"Oh."

"Jesus. Dumbass."

"HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL REACH THE CARD OF A MAN! A KNIFE WITHOUT ARMOR IN A SAVAGE LAND! HIS FAST COMES FROM HIGHER HEEDS THE CALLING WIND! A SOLDIER OF FOURTUNE IS A MAN CALLED PAAALADINNN!" the four boys broke out into chorus eerily.

"Hey I'm kinda hungry. Who's got the food?" Vern questioned.

"Oh shit!" Teddy muttered, causing everyone to turn to him, "Did anybody bring anything?"

"Not me. Gordie?"

Gordie shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, well this is great. Now what are we supposed to do, eat our feet?" Teddy proposed.

Andy snorted. Teddy always came up the wackiest things. She wasn't too concerned about the food, they'd find some. One way or another.

"You mean you didn't bring anything either?" Chris demanded, amazed and abashed that no one brought food.

"Well shit this wasn't my idea!" Teddy shouted angrily, but then his rage swooped upon Vern, "It was Vern's idea! Why didn't YOU bring something?"

"What am I supposed to do? Think of everything?" Vern said, dignified, "I brought the comb."

"Oh great, you brought the comb, what do you need a comb for, you don't even have any hair!" Teddy attacked.

"Hey hey hey!" Gordie called, waving his hands about, "Let's see how much money we've got."

While they sat down and counted the money, Andy eyed Gordie, perplexed. He wasn't usually the peacemaker, which was always Chris's job. And, now to mention it, the comment he made earlier about her sounded more like something Chris would say. He was definitely acting strangely.

"Train coming!" Chris announced.

Chris, Gordie, Vern, and Andy immediately got off of the tracks, but Teddy planted his feet deep down into the rocks that were filled in the gaps.

"I'm gonna dodge it," Teddy stated, mesmerized, staring at the train that was approaching.

"No way Teddy man, get off the tracks, you're crazy!" Chris exclaimed.

"Train dodge…..dig it."

The train chugged closer and closer to Teddy, and Andy began to panic. But she wasn't the only one.

"Get the hell off the tracks Teddy, you want to get yourself killed!" Chris shouted, his voice cracking with fear.

"Just like the beach at Normandy," Teddy said, ignoring Chris, and then immediately pretended to fire a machine gun at the train.

"TEDDY!" Andy shrieked. Of course this was why Teddy was doing this. His father. His father had to be the reason for every crazy thing Teddy had ever done in his life, and the reason for why Teddy was so messed up. Sure, maybe sometimes he didn't show how his father affected him, but he hurt Teddy so bad, and Teddy didn't even know it himself. His father was just that perfect image of a hero.

Chris looked back and forth between Teddy and the train, and then jumped onto the tracks, grabbed a very reluctant and irate Teddy, and dragged him to safe ground. But soon, Teddy broke loose, emotionally too. The two friends began to yell and shout at each other, their voices echoing throughout the fields that surrounded the train tracks. Andy and Gordie took a hold of Chris, while Vern had a very difficult time of keeping his hold on his best friend. Soon, they both began to calm down, and they started breathing hard, staring each other off.

"I don't need no babysitter," Teddy hissed.

"You do too," Chris admitted, now beginning to realize they needed to continue their trip, "Skin it," he said, laying his hand out for Teddy to skin.

"I could have dodged it," Teddy said angrily and walked away.

Chris broke away from Gordie and Andy, causing them to bump into each other clumsily.

"Sorry," Gordie muttered, his face a light shade of pink.

"Teddy, you can dodge it on the way back man!" Chris exclaimed, desperate, "Now. Peace. Skin it."

The two looked at each other, Teddy searching in Chris's eyes if he truly meant he was sorry. Teddy's mouth went lopsided, and he slapped his hand onto Chris's and then they reversed. So, the two began walking down the train tracks again, and Gordie and Vern followed almost like loyal puppy dogs.

Andy got back up onto the tracks, but stopped. She stared at Chris's and Teddy's backsides. Teddy was really a person full of rage and sadness. But not Chris. Oh Chris was the absolute sweetest person she knew. But Chris had his own pain, that Andy found it amazing and praiseworthy that he took care of the whole gang like he was their older brother. But no one ever praised him for his 'work'. Both Chris and Teddy just worried her so much…as a matter of fact, Gordie worried her too.


	3. Teddy's Old Man Blues

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for not updating…it's been over a month I think, sorry. My main priority is my other story, Hard to Say Important Things. I started that one first, and I think my writing skills have been best displayed in that story. But I don't want to leave this one hanging, so enjoy! Oh, and sorry if Teddy truly offends anyone (girls!), but it's always how I pictured Mr. Duchamp: hormones running EVERYWHERE!

Disclaimer: Not mine, just Andy and Jane and the situations that aren't in the movie.

The group of five reached the junk yard about an hour and half after Chris's miraculous save. They stood outside the junkyard fence, searching on the other side for Milo Pressman and his dog Chopper. Andy had heard some nasty and rather shocking rumors about the man and his faithful companion, the worst one being that Chopper was trained to sic certain parts of the human anatomy. Andy smiled devilishly at the junkyard. Thank God she wasn't a boy.

"Hey Vern, it looks like your Ma's been out driving again," Gordie teased.

"Oh that's so funny I forgot to laugh."

"Yeah Gordo that was pretty lame," Andy admitted.

"Stand back men!" Teddy cried, throwing his sleeping bag over the fence and ignoring the group, "Paratroops, over the side!"

The rest of the gang rolled their eyes at Teddy's usual antics and followed him over the fence. Andy and Vern ran after Teddy, Andy laughing when Vern tripped over a small car part and almost dove head first into the ground. She loved her klutz of a friend. Teddy and Vern stopped at the well to refill Teddy's canteen, and then they each stuck their head under it. Andy settled herself in a shady, secluded area surrounded by cars.

She turned her head and saw Gordie and Chris racing towards the well, Chris gaining speed. He finally stopped and pumped his arms into the air. Gordie stopped beside him. The two looked at each other and then draped their arms over their shoulders. Andy smiled. She really loved seeing her two best friends display their camaraderie. It was just so sweet to look at, although whenever she mentioned how cute it looked, the boys always took their arms back and stepped away awkwardly. It was just a girl thing.

Soon, the four boys came and sat around her. They were all wet from the well, the cold water dripping from their hair and their foreheads, replacing sweat. Chris sat down next to her, leaned over, and shook his hair so a small amount of water fell on her.

"Chris, stop it!" Andy commanded through her giggles.

"Hey, I don't take orders. I do what I want," Chris informed with a smirk, leaning back against the rubble of car parts.

"Pssh, I know that from past experiences…what am I supposed to suspect from you?" Andy asked, giving him a playful push.

"Alright you two, enough flirting," Teddy ordered, grinning.

"They aren't flirting!" Gordie insisted, his arms crossed, his eyes flashing.

"Are you _kidding_? Look at 'em _go_!" Vern pointed to Chris and Andy laughing, who were ignoring the conversation.

"Well…" Gordie paused as he studied his two best friends, "Maybe."

"Anyway, forget about the cozy, mosey, rosy lovey dovies," Teddy said, "Have you guys been watching the Mickey Mouse Club lately?"

"Yeah," Gordie and Vern answered in unison.

"I think Annette's tits are getting bigger," Teddy reasoned.

Right at the words "tits", Chris sprung to attention. "You think so?" he asked eagerly.

"Yeah, I think he's right," Gordie agreed, and all heads turned to him. This would be the perfect time to….well, he wasn't sure. He felt compelled to get back at Andy, but he just didn't know why. "I think the A and the E are starting to bend around the sides."

This caused the whole group to break out into loud, raucous laughter, except for Andy. She crossed her arms and stared at the boys. She always hated it when they acted like this. It was so rude and inconsiderate….so _sexist_, even. But, in the end, she had to forgive him. Surely she couldn't make their hormones stop their running course. But they could at least keep this sex talk to a minimum.

"Annette's tits are great!" Vern exclaimed.

"Yeah!" the other boys cheered.

"Oh my god!" Andy yelled, throwing her arms up in the air, "Can you four talk about anything besides boobs and their sizes and sex!"

The four boys looked at each other for a minute and then blinked at Andy. "No," they answered together.

"Besides," Teddy added, "Maybe our talk would interest you in a little something." His eyebrows wiggled suggestively, hiding and coming out of his coke bottle glasses.

"What little something? You mean your dick?" Andy asked.

The three other boys roared with laughter, laughing so much that Andy thought she could feel the ground shaking. Teddy glared at her but grinned.

"Oh, you're not interested in mine crazy lady. You know you want Chris to take a dive into your jeans."

"Hey," Chris said warningly.

"And anyway," Teddy continued, "We're all dying to know what type of figure you have. We have to know so we're prepared for our daily sessions of sex when we get older. If anything, I bet you've got _a lot _of built up tension because you have to stare at my attractive ass every day. You know you want to pull that red hair out that high ponytail and scream."

Teddy smiled proudly. The other four weren't sure if proud was really the good word in this situation. Chris and Gordie gazed at the girl sitting in between them, actually thinking about what Teddy said, but with deeper meaning. They were beginning to grow up, would they separate from each other because girls and boys 'weren't meant to be friends'? Plus, they were wondering what was really under those t-shirts….

Vern didn't care though. Either he didn't really care about his friend's physical attributes, or he was just too dense to process all of Teddy's sexual speech. He stared at Teddy with a blank expression.

"….Pervert," Vern said simply.

"Indeed I am Vern, indeed I am!" Teddy agreed, puffing out his chest to be manly.

"What time is it Gordie?" Vern asked.

"Huh? Umm…" Gordie dove wildly inside his pocket for his watch; he had been a little busy staring at Andy, "It's quarter after one."

"We better go get the food. The junkyard opens at three…Chopper will be here," Vern informed.

"Ooh, sic balls!" Chris teased.

"Why don't you go, you can pick us up on the way back," Teddy told Vern.

"I'm not going alone, we should all go!" Vern said.

Then the group went into a fit about not going, until of course, Chris the wizened peacemaker settled it. They all got out quarters, and the odd man went. In this case, it was Gordie. Actually, Andy thought, Gordie _was _the odd man in their group. Not the way Vern was, but Gordie was rather strange. There was something about Gordie that was different from the others, Andy knew. She knew it was something special.

"You lose Gordie, ehehehehe! Ol' Gordie just screwed the pooch!" Teddy laughed.

"Does the word retarded mean anything to you?" Gordie asked sarcastically.

"Gordie, go get the provisions, you morphadite!"

"Don't call me any of your mother's pet names!" Gordie ordered, causing Andy to grin.

"What a wet end you are, Lachance!"

"Shut up!"

The four sitting on the ground leaned in together and chorused, "I don't shut up, I grow up, and when I look at you, I throw up!"

"And then your mother goes around the corner and she licks it up!" Gordie retorted.

"OOOH!" the other boys cried in defeat, and then started "wrestling" each other.

"Gordie, that was brilliant, like always!" Andy praised, watching Gordie disappear.

Then, Chris tackled Andy to the ground, and she joined in with her other boys. The thing that she didn't know was that after she called out to Gordie, he had a huge smile on his face. But Andy was too preoccupied with her other three friends. They kept their rough-housing going for a few more minutes, and then stopped to talk.

"Wow…who knew girls could actually move more than their hand to paint their nails?" Teddy breathed.

"You will. Now," Andy said, standing up. She kicked Teddy hard in the shin, causing him to howl in pain and grab onto his leg. She turned to see that Vern and Chris were staring at her with their eyes wide with surprise and fright. She smiled pleasantly down at them.

"Which one of my boys is next?" she asked sweetly.

Vern threw his arms up over his head and turned away. "Don't hurt me!"

Andy laughed and crouched down next to him. "Hey, I'd never hurt you. Bad. Don't be afraid of me," she told him, poking his arm.

"Well, I have a good of enough reason to be!"

"Oh Vern, my favorite wuss," Andy sighed, "There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm on your side…..what Chris?"

Chris had been staring at Andy for awhile now. The strange thing was that it was the blankest stare she had ever seen, and it made her feel weird, like he was analyzing her and trying to see through to her deepest secrets and emotions.

"Chris?"

"Wha…oh. Sorry," Chris apologized awkwardly. He sounded dazed and a little out of it.

"Oh no, oh guys," Teddy said, panic rising in his voice, "The fat man and his monster are here!"

The other three whipped their heads around to see non other than Milo Pressman working by the junkyard shed, which wasn't too far from where they were sitting. They couldn't see Chopper, but if Milo was here, Chopper would be too.

"Let's get out of here!" Vern said a little too loudly.

"Shh!" the rest signaled.

"Hey, all I'm saying is that we should get out of here and not stand around like a bunch of-"

"Shut up!" Teddy, Andy, and Chris whispered crossly.

Chris began to walk slowly away from the place they were sitting to the fence, Andy, Teddy, and Vern following him quietly. As she waited for Chris and Teddy to climb over the fence so she and Vern could, all that was going through her mind was _where is Gordie? _

As though her thought signaled the arrival like trumpets did for the royal family, Gordie appeared in the junkyard. He seemed to look confused and very upset. But then he caught sight of Milo and took off running towards the fence.

"Chopper, sic him boy!"

Gordie screamed as the dog pounded after him, gaining speed with each step. He threw himself against the fence, climbed up, and just flew off of it and landed right beside Andy. Soon, she heard laughter. She had no idea what could possibly be so funny, and if the other boys were laughing at Gordie's screams, she was going to pound them. But no, once she saw what they were laughing at, she snorted with a grin on her face. Chopper was a puny little thing!

"Kiss my ass, Choppy! Kiss my ass, bite shit!" Teddy teased, rubbing his butt against the fence. Chopper grabbed a hold of his pants, but Teddy pulled away successfully, "Sic balls, Choppy!" Teddy then reached down and tugged at his crotch. Andy stared at him with amazement. Did his boldness and idiocy _ever _embarrass him?

"Stop teasing that dog!" Milo ordered. He had now approached the fence.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you climb over this fence and get me, fatass!" Teddy yelled happily.

"Don't you call me that, you little tin-weasel peckerwood loony's son!"

Everything became silent. Teddy's expression changed so rapidly that if you blinked, you missed it. His eyes were flashing behind his coke-bottle glasses, his fists were clenched, his breathing heavy, his jaw set. Andy looked at him worriedly. This was what Teddy would have to deal with for the rest of his life: he definitely wasn't going to get out of Castle Rock when he got older, and everyone would know him as the son of a war veteran who tried to burn his ear off. It was weird how Teddy loved his father so much and couldn't see a thing wrong, but everyone else, even the people he barely knew saw. Why did Teddy try to kid himself? His father was crazy, and there was nothing he could do to change that, no matter how much he loved him.

"What did you call me?" Teddy asked quietly but forcefully.

"I know who you are. You're Teddy Duchamp. Your dad's a loony, a loony in the nuthouse in Togus. He took your ear, and he placed it to a stove and almost burnt it off," Milo informed him with information he already knew.

"My father stormed the beach at Normandy," Teddy stated in a determined voice.

"He's crazier than a shithouse rat! No wonder you're acting the way you are, with a loony for a father!" Milo said in amazement.

"You call my dad a loony again, and I'll kill you," Teddy threatened dangerously.

"Loony, loony, loony!" Milo teased, satisfied. He sure did hit the button, alright.

Teddy suddenly flung himself at the fence and roared, "I'M GONNA RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND SHIT DOWN YOUR NECK!"

Andy helped Chris grab a hold of Teddy and pull him off the fence. He tried to kick and punch his way out of their grasps, but to no avail.

"It's alright Teddy, it's alright," Andy whispered into his burnt ear.

"Let him do his own fighting!" Milo shouted.

"Sure you only outweigh him by five hundred pounds, FATASS!" Gordie yelled at Milo, planting his feet firmly on the ground, mouth opened as wide as it would go.

"I know who you are, you're Lachance!" Milo declared, "I know all of you guys, and all of your fathers are going to get a call from me…except for the loony up in Togus."

This sent Teddy into another rage again, and this time it took everyone combined to keep him from hurling himself at the metal fence. They began to drag him away from the junkyard, Teddy shouting all the way. Suddenly, Andy let go of him and stayed still. This man was absolutely terrible. How could he insult Teddy like that, insult his father? Sure, his father _was _a loony, but did that give him the right to announce it to the world?

"Can't wait to tell everyone you called a war vet a loony!" Andy called to Milo, hot anger running through her, "Tell me, what did YOU do during the war, Mr. Pressman? Sit on the couch and guzzle down beers while not even caring for all of the Americans and Jews who died? Yeah, that must be how you got that revolting thing you call a stomach, you son of a bitch!"

Andy spit angrily at Milo's feet and ran off as he began to scream his head off at her. She managed to catch up with the boys. Teddy had his glasses off and his face was in his hands. Chris had his arm draped over Teddy's shoulder, and Gordie held his sleeping bag. They were such good friends. Andy came in between Gordie and Teddy and slipped her hand into Teddy's. She brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed it lightly.

"Don't let him get you down. He doesn't know you, he doesn't know your father, he doesn't know any of us," Andy said soothingly, "No matter what he says, the only thing he can change is your attitude. You and your father are heroes to me."

Teddy let out a sob and fell into her. She hugged him tightly, staring at the other three boys who were staring at them. She caught eyes with Gordie, but then averted them, her cheeks rosy. Teddy then broke away and put his glasses back on. He took a deep breath and slung his arm over Chris's shoulder.

"What are we waiting for, old age? Let's get moving!" he called out enthusiastically, "And I'm sorry if I'm spoiling everyone's good time."

"I don't think it should be a good time," Gordie said.

"You saying you want to go back?" Chris asked him, curious.

"No. But we're going to go see a dead kid. Maybe it shouldn't be a party."

Andy looked at him. God he was smart! Was it wrong for the five of them to have fun looking for a dead boy?

"Yeah. Like if he's really bad, like all cut up and blood and shit all over him. I might have nightmares..."

"Come on Vern," Chris said as Teddy sniffed.

"...You know, like all guts and eyeballs all ready to jump and grab-"

"Shut up Vern, god damnit!" Chris shouted in frustration.

"I can't help it," Vern replied solemnly, "Sorry."

Andy's face broke out into a grin and she started to crack up laughing. The boys stared at her like she was crazy. That was the good thing about Vern- he could turn anything into something funny. Teddy began to laugh along with her, and this made her even happier. But still, there was this feeling, this thought in the back of her mind that was very unsure, very awkward, and very nervous.


	4. Trains, Talks, and Utter Frustration

A/N: Hello all! Thanks for reviewing my last chapter! And you might have noticed there were no Jane Suther and the Cobras in that one. They will not be in this one, but after this one, they will have two whole chapters to themselves. I'm way more into the "four boys" scene than I am with the Cobras, I don't know as much about them as I do of the boys. If anyone could give me help on writing the Cobras, I'd really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: Not mine except for the girl the reviewers love and her sista

After leaving the junkyard, the train tracks went straight through the woods, so the group ventured out there. Teddy's mood made a miraculous change, and now he and Vern were in the lead, dancing and singing Lollipop, by the Chordettes. Then was Chris all by himself. He seemed to be in deep thought, but what he was thinking, Andy didn't know. She began to walk beside Gordie, but they did not speak. Andy wanted to, but Gordie was looking rather down, for reasons she couldn't fathom. But when Andy wanted to do something, she did it.

"Man, that was some fucked up shit back there, huh Gordo?"

"Yeah," Gordie agreed, not really focusing on their conversation.

"I feel sorry for Teddy. Actually, I feel sorry for all of you. All of you guys except Vern have pretty fucked up dads, yours included. You know that?" Andy told him. She wanted him to know. He had to know the predicaments and situations he would have trouble getting out of because his dad wouldn't be there to help him.

"Yeah," Gordie repeated, "But I mean, my dad doesn't hit me and give me bruises." Gordie now switched his gaze from the plants on the side of the tracks over to Chris's backside. "And he also doesn't try to burn my ear off by placing it against a hot stove."

"Well, that's true," Andy responded, "But to me, I think your dad does worse things than abusing you. He ignores you all the time, pretends like you don't exist. He even did that when Denny was still alive. It got worse though after. But he really has to open his eyes and see what a great son he still has. I mean really, Denny's death hit everybody in Castle Rock hard, my sister included."

Gordie gave her an odd look. It was very rare that Andy would mention Jane in such context. Silence over swept their conversation, and they both began to separately mull over their choice of words to say next.

"So, have you thought about any new stories lately?" Andy asked.

"Oh…OH yeah, there is this one story I really like….it's kind of different," Gordie answered.

"GOOD!" Andy exclaimed, "I'm so sick and TIRED of those Le Dio stories. It's not that I don't _like _them," Andy added once she saw Gordie's discouraged face, "But I thought I was going to have to sock Teddy he made you write Le Dio stories over and over and over…."

Gordie gave a small laugh and looked up at her good-naturedly.

"I knew girls hated the army."

Now Andy laughed. "It's not that we hate the army, we hate _war_. It's vile, cruel, and despicable. I mean, yeah people think I'm a tomboy, but anyone decent likes peace. War really shows off the world's intelligence," she said sarcastically.

"Yeah, the world is pretty stupid," Gordie agreed.

"So what's your new story about?" Andy questioned.

"Well, it's about a contest."

"Ooh I like contests. What kind?"

"A pie-eating contest."

Andy snorted, "A _pie_-eating contest? Oh yeah, nothing better than a bunch of guys indulging themselves too much on blueberry pies and then barfing their guts out."

Gordie smiled at her, but he was surprised. How did she know the whole story already? She even knew the flavor of the pies!

"Well, I'm interested in that stuff," Gordie explained.

"You're interested in people barfing?" Andy laughed, "Wow Gordo, you are sooooo _weird_!"

Andy then began to quicken her pace, trying to catch up with the rest of the guys on the train tracks. Gordie looked down at the ground, feeling apprehensive. He didn't push it aside, like he would if Chris or Teddy or Vern had called him weird. This was Andy who had called him weird, and for some reason, it made him feel uneasy when it was her. He felt like he was being judged, and that it was the way Andy always thought about him. Besides, he liked her as more than a friend, didn't he?

Andy turned and saw Gordie's distraught appearance. Gordie made _her _feel so weird, so odd, so confused. He had this way about him that twisted and bent her mind into thinking strange thoughts and feeling bizarre emotions.

She trotted ahead of her and fell into stride of the boy next to her.

"Ah, well if it isn't Miss Sweet as Candy Andy!" Chris exclaimed joyously, snapping out of his past thoughts.

"Yeah, it's me," Andy replied in a low tone.

"Whoa, what's up with you?" Chris asked sternly.

"I- I just….it's Gordie."

Chris's head immediately whipped around to look at her. "What's wrong with him? Is something bothering him?"

"I don't know," Andy responded, "But he's bothering me. I'm worried about him."

"Why?" Chris questioned.

Andy paused. She didn't really _know _why she was worried about Gordie. Wherever she went, she always had this unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach, and her mind interpreted it to be something about him. She was worried that something would happen to him if she wasn't there to protect him. Yes, she did like Gordie as more than a friend but…but being constantly concerned about him was rather weird.

"I don't know," Andy admitted.

"How worried are you?"

"I don't know," Andy said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Do you _like _him?" Chris asked in an odd, unreadable tone.

Andy whipped her head around to look at him. How did Chris know? Did it really matter? She just could not tell him the truth. Why should she? It was her own feelings, she didn't have to share them with anyone.

"I don't _know_!" Andy repeated, agitated.

"Alright, I was just asking," Chris said calmly.

"Ok!" Andy agreed in a rage-filled voice.

She jogged ahead of him, not wanting him to really find out her true feelings. She was so confused! Andy knew who could take this off of her mind.

"Excuse me boys, but I think _I _could beat up Mighty Mouse _and _Superman," Andy said arrogantly, jumping in between Teddy and Vern.

"Andy, my main girl!" Teddy exclaimed.

"Teddy, I'm your _only _girl," Andy pointed out.

"Ah, you sure are, my love," Teddy agreed, draping his arm over Andy's shoulder.

"Ooh the love!" Vern said, bringing his hands up to his heart.

"Aww! Laugh! Cry-"

"Party! Kill the Nazis! Fight AIDS! Have sex!" Teddy cried randomly.

Vern and Andy stared at him with blank expressions.

"What?"

"Well Theodore, to help fight AIDS, you don't have sex. It can be sexually transmitted, you know," Andy lectured.

"It can be sexually what? Girl, you are way too smart. Cut back on the brain and rabbit food."

"How does rabbit food make someone a genius?" Andy asked him, amused.

"Rabbits eat lettuce, duh," Vern answered.

"Vern, lettuce isn't brain food!"

"WELL! I don't eat lettuce. I don't eat brain food. Anything I don't eat is brain food!" Vern exclaimed.

"Pssh, that's a _given_, Verno!" Andy retorted.

Teddy and Andy laughed cruelly at Vern, but suddenly their laughter was interrupted by shouts.

"Bullshit!"

"Bull true! I know how your dad feels about you, he doesn't give a shit about you! Denny was the one he cared about, and don't try to tell me different!"

That was it. Either it was silence behind Andy, or soft talk. She looked down at the railroad tracks and kicked a rock hard, stubbing her toe to the point of breaking the skin. She ignored the pain though, and thought of the emotional pain her friends were going through.

She knew exactly what Chris was talking to Gordie about: his future. Chris was trying to point Gordie in the right direction, but Gordie is just so goddamn stubborn….who would win? Andy had no doubt in her mind that Chris could convince Gordie to take the college courses and forget about him. How Gordie could forget about Chris and the other guys, she'd never know.

The group of five was Gordie's only security, and having to separate from Chris, Teddy, and Vern would break away that refuge Gordie had achieved. And on top of that, Andy wasn't even in his grade, so he'd be all alone. But she knew that it was for the best. She wouldn't be able to see her best friend/interest waste that talent and creativeness inside of him. If Chris was going to need help to get Gordie to take the college courses, she'd do it in a heartbeat.

The group arrived at the train trestle. Andy stared at the railroad tracks. The bridge was long and seemed like it took awhile to get across. What if a train came? There had to be some other way across the river.

"Does anyone know when the next train is due?" Vern asked meekly.

"We could go down to the route 136 bridge," Chris suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Teddy exclaimed incredulously, "That's five miles down the river! You walk five miles down the river, you gotta walk five miles back!"

"Yeah, but if a train comes, there's nowheres to go!" Vern protested frightfully.

"No there isn't. We'll just jump."

Andy turned to look at Teddy, her mouth open. Did he seriously want to risk getting killed? On second thought…this _was _Teddy they were talking about…

"Are _you _crazy?" Andy asked him.

"Teddy, its a hundred feet!" Chris cried.

"Look, you guys can go around if you want to," Teddy started, "_I'm _crossing here. And while you guys are dragging your candy asses halfway across the state and back, I'll be waiting for you on the other side, relaxing with my thoughts."

"Do you use your left hand or your right hand for that?" Gordie questioned simply.

"You wish."

Andy gave Gordie a thump on the back in appreciation of his clever line and watched Teddy start across the trestle. Chris followed, and Gordie signaled for Andy to go. Vern then went, and Gordie taking up the rear. She walked slowly and cautiously, step by step. She breathed deeply, but then started to get the hang of it. This wasn't so bad….

"TRAAAAAAAAAAIN!"

Andy whipped around, and there she saw it. Coming around the corner was the train. She thought if she opened her mouth in surprise, she'd puke. Her stomach felt like it was going to squeeze itself out of her and fall through the ties on the tracks. Andy stared. The train was going to run over Gordie and Vern! It was right up their asses, she knew she had to do something. For a quick second she thought of going to them, but then she realized that would only make it even harder for the two of them to get across. The only thing she could do was run, and she was perfectly fine doing that. She sprinted as hard as she could, but making sure her feet didn't slip through the ties. She looked up to see Chris and Teddy already on the other side, and she could hear Gordie and Vern's screams behind her. Suddenly, she saw Chris take a quick step towards her, going back onto the trestle.

"NO!" Andy shrieked, "GET BACK, YOU SON OF A BITCH, GET BACK!"

Chris immediately stepped back on the ground and made room for her to stop where he and Teddy were standing. Andy's breathing was becoming abnormally heavy….but she had to get to the other side…she was almost there…

"GO, GO, GO!" the screams coming from in front of her and behind her seemed to motivate her to move faster. She pumped her arms and her legs, and leapt to the spot made clear for her landing. Chris tried to help her back up, but she pushed him away and stood up quick. She felt as if she could barely stand, but she did anyway, staring with wide eyes as Gordie thrust himself and Vern off of the tracks. She, Teddy, and Chris ran, and saw them on a lower ground, panting and whimpering in pain, but seeming to be alright.

"Hey," Chris said with a smirk, "At least now we know when the next train is due."

Gordie and Vern looked up at him evilly, and Andy smacked his arm. She was rather angry with him. First, he was going to risk his life and get himself run over by a train just to help her get across? Then, he tried to help her back up when she fell. It wasn't like she was physically impaired!

Once Gordie and Vern regained their composures (for Vern it took quite awhile), the group walked for about half an hour and found a place to settle in the woods. Gordie began to get out the food, Teddy unrolled everyone's sleeping bags, Vern just sat there sighing, and Chris and Andy went to go get wood to build a fire for the food Gordie bought. Once Andy was sure she and Chris were alone and had gained a fair amount of twigs and sticks, she turned to him.

"Hey," Andy said roughly, "I don't appreciate what you were trying to do back there."

Chris turned and stared at her, looking perplexed, "What was I doing?"

"You were trying to help me," Andy answered.

"And that's a _bad _thing?" Chris asked sarcastically.

"Well for one, if you tried to help me on the trestle, we both would have had our asses ran over by that goddamn train. I was doing fine, ok? Just because I'm a girl from that oh-so-proper heritage doesn't mean that I need your charity!" Andy pointed out, agitated with him already.

"Friends help each other! And I sure as hell didn't want to see you dead, I might as well be dead if you were!" Chris replied.

"You know, I don't care. It would be my choice whether I want help or not and I don't."

"I'll make sure I remember that next time your life is at stake. Just let you whimper like a goddamn dog," Chris told her sardonically, his face set.

"CHRIS!" Andy screamed in frustration, "You don't get A THING, do you? When I want help I'll ask for it, damnit! There are more important things than me to be worrying about, boy! And then you have to go and make a joke. This just in: it wasn't funny!"

"I was just trying to make them feel better!" Chris claimed, his temper beginning to rise.

"Well it didn't! It was a mean and heartless thing to say, it was so unlike you!" Andy exclaimed.

"Sorry if I'm turning out to be my father," Chris then lowered his voice to a whisper so only he could hear himself, "And sorry that I tried to help you out, isn't the only way for you to notice that I like you?"

"If you keep up the cruel remarks, you might just end up like your fucking father!"

And with that, Andy whipped around and stomped away, leaving Chris to himself. She scrubbed at her eyes and immediately regretted the last thing she said to him. She was such a hothead…but she should have had better control. She trudged to the group's campsite and flopped down on her sleeping bag.

"Whoa, what's wrong with you?" Gordie asked, his voice soft, his eyes deep with concern.

"Nothing," Andy answered emotionlessly, her eyes closed.

"Where's Chris?"

"He's coming." Andy actually had no idea if when he was coming back.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Suddenly, Andy lifted her head.

"Where'd the freaks go?"

"Teddy and Vern went to the bathroom. But you are still here," Gordie joked.

"Thaaaanks," Andy responded with a smile.

"Hey, Andy…." Gordie said after a minute of silence.

"Yeah?" she asked.

Gordie stared. Her beautiful light blue eyes were so intensifying and mysterious, her auburn colored hair reflected perfectly in the sunset. She _belonged _in a sunset.

"You belong in a sunset," Gordie spilled out his thoughts but then mentally smacked himself over the head.

"Why do I belong in a sunset?" Andy questioned with a chuckle.

"Because…you're very…very…" Gordie couldn't say it. How the hell was he supposed to tell his best friend for four years that he thought she was so fucking pretty, and funny, and intelligent, and creative, and talented, and charming….

"I'm very what?"

"Well…uhh…your hair is auburn, and that's kind of like a nice red. And the sunset needs more red, so your head would fit in good with the pink and yellow and orange and stuff," Gordie said a little too quickly, but thought it was a fair save.

"Oh," Andy replied, her face sagging in disappointment, "Yeah, I guess my head would."

She fell back onto her sleeping bag. She could have sworn Gordie was going to say……Andy sighed. When was something going to go right on this trip?


	5. Mailbox Baseball, Tempers, and Taunting

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile….VERY busy…and I will continue to be until summer comes rolling on in. I'm hoping that you guys enjoy this chapter, because I'm afraid my Cobra skills are nowhere as near as good as my "four boys" skills (if I have any). I'm very under confident with the Cobras, and with Jane as well. Please review!

Disclaimer: Nothing here is mine except for Jane and stuff that's not in the movie…rather obvious, right?

"Shit, I'm out! God damnit!" Ace exclaimed in frustration, after swinging a baseball bat at a mailbox, which hung on to the post by only a string.

Ace, Eyeball, Charlie, Billy, and Jane were all riding in Eyeball's car, playing their personal favorite game, mailbox baseball. Jane was sitting in between Ace and Eyeball, and she was itching to play, but of course, the boys wouldn't let her. This was the main thing that frustrated Jane about hanging out with the Cobras: they would never let her do anything. Apparently, she was only their whore friend. And ha, she hadn't even let Ace touch her chest yet!

"Shouldn't have gone for a wooden one, heh heh!" Eyeball suggested teasingly, letting out that irritating yet hilarious chuckle.

"Tell me something I don't know, asshole!" Ace retorted, although Jane had a feeling that Ace thought the wooden one would be the best one to hit. Ace turned around and held the bat out to Billy, who was in the backseat with Charlie.

"Naw, that's ok, I don't wanna play no more," Billy told him quietly, staring at the bat with evasion.

"But we only played three innings, that'd be a non official game!" Eyeball protested.

"Oh, if he doesn't want to play, don't make him," Jane scolded, turning around to look at Billy.

"Hey Ace, me and Billy-" Charlie started, but Billy quickly elbowed him and he immediately stopped.

"What's with you homos? You've been acting psycho all day!" Ace looked back and forth between the two teenage boys, who stayed absolutely silent, "What is it?"

"It's nothing," Billy told him.

"Well, if you gentlemen don't mind I'd like to finish this game before I start collecting my goddamn social security. Okay? You're up, Billy, move it!" Ace commanded, and without a moment's hesitation, Billy picked up the bat and began to swing.

Jane stared at him. "You are so annoying!"

"Annoying?" Ace asked, frowning, "Couldn't have picked a better adjective? Whatever happened to….menacing, tough? And sexy? Where the hell did sexy go?"

Jane smirked at him brazenly and jabbed her thumb to the other side of her and informed, "Sexy is currently driving."

Eyeball almost swerved off the road, causing Billy to drop the baseball bat on the ground, causing Charlie to curse, causing Ace to reach an arm to both Billy and Eyeball, causing Jane to hit his chest. Ace immediately moved his arms to grip Jane's, and stared at her intensely, making her feel very uncomfortable.

"Did you just hit me?" Ace asked in a whisper.

Jane stayed absolutely silent.

"Huh? Did you?" Ace asked again, shaking her.

"Yeah."

"And do you know that hitting me is the biggest mistake you could possibly make?"

"Yeah."

"And I'm a pretty fair man, right? So…..whatever someone gives to me, I give to them."

And with that said, Ace slapped Jane hard across the face. Jane didn't move a muscle, didn't dare to falter. If she moved, she knew Ace would strike her again. He lifted her chin up and smiled at her.

"Now I think we understand each other."

"Jesus Christ Ace. You know she was only joking about me being sexy, right?" Eyeball asked after a few minutes passed.

"Of course I know! Who'd think that you were anything close to sexy?"

Jane cursed under her breath. In reality, she really did think that Eyeball was sexy, and if it was possible, he was a hell of a lot nicer than Ace. And saying that Eyeball Chambers was nice was rather crazy.

Eyeball rolled his eyes, or eye, and took a swig of his beer. He clearly seemed annoyed with Ace, but hey, what could he do? He had to follow Ace's orders, or he was seriously going to get his ass kicked, despite how tough he was himself. Sure, Jane shouldn't have hit his chest, but Ace didn't have to slap her. _At least not on her face_. Eyeball smirked as the perverted thought crossed his dirty, corrupted mind.

* * *

All of the Cobras were sitting around what looked like a smaller version of Milo's junkyard. The area was deserted of any trees, and covered with thick grass that hadn't been bothered to be cut for years. Ace sat on his light blue car, cleaning a machine part, while Vince Desjardins and Eyeball were giving Fuzzy Bracowitz and Billy the Cobra tattoos. Charlie sat next to Ace, guzzling down beers. Jane was seated on Charlie's other side, a bottle of booze in one hand and the other running through her dyed blonde hair.

"So what's with you and this Connie Palermo chick?" Eyeball interrogated.

"Eh, I've been seeing her for over a month now and all she let me do was feel her tits," Billy answered, trying to sound like he didn't care, but Jane could tell that he did.

"Heh, she's a Catholic man. They're all like that. If you wanna get laid, you gotta get yourself a Protestant. A Jew's good," Ace recommended.

"That's funny," Jane commented, "I never knew you screwed before."

Ace cocked an eyebrow at her. "What do you think I _am_?"

"A completely selfish and arrogant bastard, probably the sexiest thing alive," Jane told him, pretending to contemplate the sarcastic question.

Suddenly, the radio that was perched on a wooden board in the junkyard blasted loud the current story of Ray Brower. Jane had heard his name mentioned before by the radio, the t.v. in the living room, and from Andy, who loved talking about the boy for some odd reason.

"When are they gonna give up?" Eyeball asked to no one in particular, "The kid's gone, they're never gonna find him."

"Not where they're looking," Charlie corrected brightly, sitting up at attention.

"Eyeball's right Charlie, they ain't never gonna find him," Billy agreed, giving Charlie a death glare.

"You know…ten years from now some hunter's gonna go into the woods to take a leak….wind up pissing on his bones," Vince put in.

"I bet you a thousand dollars they'll find him before that!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Bet you two thousand dollars they won't!" Eyeball teased, squinting his face.

"Well asshole-"

"Will you two just shut the fuck up?" Ace asked distractedly, "If either one of you had two thousand dollars I'd kill you both."

"And you'd give half of it to me, right?" Jane joked.

"If you'd let me fuck you," Ace responded

"But that means I'd be your whore!" Jane protested.

"Hey, babe, that's what girls are meant to be."

Jane switched her gaze over to Eyeball. Ace was really annoying the shit out of her, and she felt she was dying. She just wasn't used to the treatment Ace gave her yet when she had that treatment as if she were queen of the world when she dated Denny.

"Eyeball, drive me home," Jane ordered, standing up.

"What? Why?"

Jane answered by dragging Eyeball to his car by his arm, leaving the rest of the Cobras in a stunned silence. Since when did Eyeball let anybody besides Ace boss him around? Eyeball drove the car to her house rapidly, feeling very uncomfortable. He knew that Ace was going to give him a serious interrogation when he got back to their junkyard, plus, he felt weird because he had never been alone with just Jane before. But why should he? He was Jane's best friend, and Ace was his best friend….

"Thanks Eyeball, I owe you one," Jane told him, and stepped out of the car.

"What's wrong with you? Why'd you want to leave?" Eyeball questioned curiously.

Jane turned around and faced him, staring at him blankly, possibly surprised that he asked. "I'm not feeling…..I have a……it's not a good day."

"Are you missin' La-"

"No, I'm not missing Denny," Jane answered firmly, lying through her teeth, "I don't care about Denny anymore, he's been dead for 4 months, why should I care anymore? I've got Ace, Ace is my boyfriend now, and that's all that matters."

Eyeball could see her fighting back the tears and taunted, "Yeah. Sure you don't miss him, he was like…. "the perfect dream guy"! AHHHHHH!" as he mocked girls' sighing, he put his hand over his heart and closed his eyes for emphasis.

"You are such a heartless mother fucking son of a bitch, you know that? I expected a little better from you. All you do is taunt and tease and drive and drink and have sex and laugh that fucking annoying laugh of yours! You know, maybe Denny _was _the perfect guy, he's surely way more perfect than you! How could you be perfect, you're just a son in the low-life Chambers family, and you really are on your way to becoming your father. But you know…..I don't think you care. I at least hope your little brother gives a damn."

Jane stomped up her porch steps and slammed the door, leaving Eyeball speechless for once in his car. She flopped down on her bed and began to sob.

No one got it. No one could even sympathize for Jane. How was it that despite everybody else in Castle Rock mourning for the loss of Denny, that Jane felt that she was the only one besides his family who truly looked past his football and academic success? No….Jane knew his parents cared for him, but not as deeply as she did. And Gordie? She was never too sure about Gordie. Gordie was such a sweet little thing to her, and he was so adorable. Jane had always noticed that his parents ignored Gordie and had always praised Denny for his accomplishments. One day….soon….._today_, she was going to go talk to Gordie about Denny. She felt it was her way of paying Denny back for everything he had done for her. But of course, she could never pay the equal amount Denny had originally given her. God how she loved Denny…..and this was where she was now. No one would ever understand.


	6. Never Going to get out of Castle Rock

A/N: Ahh, thanks for the lovely reviews ladies! I know, kind of a quick update, but I swear, this is definitely my favorite part of the movie in terms of acting skills and such (RIVERRRRRRRR) So yeah….. I had to get this part out, plus I'm kinda proud of it. This is going to be less of a Gordie/Andy chapter and definitely more of a Chris/Andy chapter…just so you know.

Disclaimer: Blah I don't own anything except for Andy and her feelings and dialogue and blah.

Finally, after about ten minutes, Chris trouped back to the campsite, struggling with the firewood, but not asking for any help. He threw them down carelessly, sat down, struck a match, and threw it into the pile of wood. The group stared at him silently, Andy's fists clenching at her own stupidity of striking that chord inside of him. Gordie got out the hamburger to eat, and they began to cook.

"Wow, that was the all time train dodge," Teddy said conversationally, "Too cool. Vern, you look so scared you looked like that fat guy in Abbot and Costello when he saw the mummy."

"I wasn't that scared!" Vern claimed.

Everyone gave him a withering look.

"You wouldn't mind then if we checked the seat of your jockeys for Hershey squirts, will ya?" Gordie joked, an adorable smile on his face, Andy noticed.

"Hey Vern, you better turn yours over," Chris instructed, studying Vern's hamburger which suddenly fell into the fire. Everyone else started cracking up.

"Aw man! You got anymore Gordie?"

"Sorry, Vern."

"This isn't funny, what am I supposed to eat?" Vern questioned worriedly, poking the fire with his stick to revive his hamburger meat.

"Why don't you cook your dick?" Teddy snickered.

"It'd be a small meal!" Chris exclaimed in a deep, mocking voice, and this caused everyone to go absolutely nuts. Andy pushed Chris good-naturedly, and the two laughed. Suddenly, Chris stopped and stared at her. Andy noticed, and she coughed and turned away from him.

* * *

Andy was staring at the dead body of Ray Brower. The weird thing was that she didn't feel anything, no sort of remorse or awkward feeling. Also, it was just grassland. No trees, no railroad tracks, no nothing. Just grass, her, and Ray. Ray's eyes were open in dead shock, blue eyes that reminded her of electrical currents. A hand touched her shoulder.

Andy whipped around, her fists ready for a fight. But no….it was only Gordie. His soft brown eyes simply stared at her as he reached to stroke her cheek. As he did so, he grabbed her face gently and kissed her tenderly on the lips. And just as soon as he appeared, Gordie vanished. Andy searched with her eyes around the grassy plains, but finding no trace of him.

Andy looked back down at Ray Brower. Suddenly, the body began to change, change dramatically. The electric blue eyes turned into friendly, ocean-colored eyes tinted with green. The black mop of hair turned into short, dirty blonde hair. The odd clothes turned into a faded white t-shirt, ripped jeans, and scuffled sneakers.

Andy's mouth flew open to scream in surprise and distraught, but no sound came out. But what really made her blood turn cold was the pocket knife lodged into the boy's neck…..

"OH MY GOD!"

"It's that Brower kid…his ghost is out walking in the woods."

An ear-piercing howl, or was it a screech, filled the air, shooting Andy out of her twisted dream. Once Vern saw that she was awake, he immediately launched himself at her, engulfing her in a huge bear hug, whimpering like a puppy.

Her eyes flicked around to see Teddy standing up, starting to walk away.

"Hey Teddy sit down," Chris told him, who was positioned on his knees, holding the gun up into the air, Gordie right by his side.

"I'm just going to go see the ghost-"

"Teddy," Andy hissed, "Sit your ass down now."

Suddenly, another shriek filled the air, and Teddy fell back clumsily, saying a favorite expression of his: "Jesus H. Baldheaded Christ!"

After a few moments of silence, Vern quivered, "Ma-maybe we should stand guard."

"Give me the gun," Teddy ordered to Chris, holding his hand out, "I'll take the first watch."

After a few minutes of begging, pleading, and eye rolling passed, Chris finally handed the gun over to Teddy, who smiled gleefully.

"Shit he's going to kill us," Andy murmured to Gordie, staring as Teddy pointed the gun at Vern, who hid in his sleeping bag. Everyone got into their sleeping bags, and after yelling at Teddy to shut his pathetic army routine up, Andy finally fell back asleep.

* * *

Andy's eyes flashed open and she felt like growling. _Somebody _was moaning and groaning in his sleep, and Andy was going to break his glasses in half. She turned on her side, and discovered that it wasn't the usual suspect: it was Gordie. His face was twisted in pain, and he seemed to be struggling. His body language gave off uncomfortable and hurt vibes. Andy suddenly noticed that Chris was awake and the one keeping watch, the gun laying at his side as he poked the fire with a stick, glancing over at Gordie here and there. Suddenly, Gordie screamed and jumped up, fully awake.

"You ok?" Chris asked.

Gordie slowly looked up at him. The poor thing, Andy thought. He was shaking and making whimpering noises. What could he have possibly dreamed of that would make him so upset?

"I didn't cry at Denny's funeral."

Chris turned to him quickly.

"I miss him Chris. I really miss him."

Andy's stomach felt uneasy as she thought. Of course, he was having a nightmare about Denny's funeral, which she had been invited to. She had been there, standing on the other side of him in a long black dress, a veil hanging over her face to cover her tears. She remembered that she had felt so stupid and embarrassed at the time, blubbering like a fucking whale while Gordie just stared at the ground like a retarded mute. She had felt somewhat angry at him for not crying, because he wasn't showing his feelings. But then she realized: he was just trying to be strong. Not for his mom, not for his dad. But for himself and for his brother.

"I know," Chris replied, searching Gordie's face, "Go back to sleep."

And with that, Chris got up and sat down against a tree, Gordie following him. They sat by each other in silence, not knowing what to say, but finally Gordie found the perfect thing.

"Maybe you can go into the college courses with me," Gordie suggested.

"They won't let me," Chris said simply, "It's because of the way they think of my family in this town…the way they think of me. I'm just one of those lowlife Chambers kids."

"That's not true!" Gordie claimed.

"Oh, it is," Chris returned, "Nobody even asked me if I took the milk money that time. I just got a three day vacation."

There was a slight pause, and then:

"Did you take it?" Gordie asked tentatively.

"Yeah I took it, you knew I took it," Chris answered, staring at Gordie pitifully, not believing that he had no clue, "Teddy knew I took it. Andy definitely knew I took it. Everybody knew I took it, even Vern knew it I think…..but…maybe I was sorry and I tried to give it back."

"You tried to give it _back_?" Gordie questioned, clearly astounded.

"Maybe, just maybe. And maybe I took it to Old Lady Simons and told her, and the money was all there. But maybe I got a three day vacation anyway because it never showed up," Chris explained, bitterness dripping from his words, "And maybe the next week Old Lady Simons had a brand new sarong on when she came to school."

"Yeah!" Gordie agreed fervently, actually sounding quite excited.

"Yeah. So let's just say that I stole the milk money, but Old Lady Simons stole it back from me," Chris summed up, his voice beginning to crack, "What if I told the story? Me, Chris Chambers, kid brother to Eyeball Chambers, do you think that anyone would have believed it?"

"No," Gordie answered truthfully.

"And do you think that that _bitch _would have dared try anything if it had been one of those douche bags from up on the view if they had taken the money?"

"No."

"Hell no! But with me…..I'm sure she had her eye on that skirt for a long time. Anyway, she saw her chance and she took it. I was the stupid one for even trying to give it back," Chris decided, his voice just a little bit above a whisper.

And then suddenly, it happened. Tears formed in Chris's eyes. This startled Andy quite a bit. No one had _ever _Chris cry before. Andy had a sinking feeling that he didn't want Gordie to be the first one to see, and if he knew Andy was looking, her too. She knew Chris was ashamed of himself for crying and trying to correct his wrongdoings. But who would have ever fucking guessed that someone would try to trick and abuse Chris in such a way that could just add to his already deep, emotional scaring? Well, now that Andy thought about it, it seemed obvious. How could she have not even thought of something like that before, that someone was trying to get him in such trouble for something he tried to prevent? But, it finally happened: Christopher Chambers let himself show emotion.

"I never thought- I never thought…a teacher….oh who gives a _fuck _anyway?" Chris exclaimed, and then began to cry. Not just a few tears, but really cry. He took a large swallow, and then told Gordie and Andy something that broke both of their hearts: "I-I just wish that I could go someplace where nobody knows me."

He now started to cry really hard, tears flying all over his face, which he tried to hide by burying his face in between his folded arms.

"I-I guess I'm just a pussy huh?"

"No way man," Gordie told him reassuringly, rubbing his arm. After a few minutes passed with Chris still crying, Gordie asked, "Are you gonna be ok?"

"Mhmmm…yeah, you go on back to sleep," Chris answered distractedly, staring at the form of Andy, and she thought that he had finally found out that she was awake.

"You sure?"

Chris nodded, and Gordie slapped his shoulder friendly, "Hey, Chris….you're going places, man. You're so fucking determined. I believe in you, and I swear, even if it takes all my life, I'm gonna help you get to the places you wanna go."

Chris, surprised by Gordie's speech, replied, "Man, you've got to concentrate on yourself. On your work, on your future. Not mine. Because in the end, when you're a big famous writer, you're gonna forget about all of us, all of this. And you know, I want you to forget. It'll just get in the way of everything you've got going for you."

Gordie sighed, and stood up. "With no one with me….it seems pretty damn near impossible. I just wish….why couldn't Denny be here?"

And with that somewhat confusing statement, Gordie retreated to his sleeping bag. At that moment, the world seemed silent. It was like one of those old black and white silent films: you could never tell what was going on. After a few eerie moments of this silence, Chris tilted his head to make sure Gordie was asleep, causing a few more tears to drip down his face. Once he did, he tilted his head back into the normal position and sighed.

"Oh Andy…you can come out now."

_Oh shit. _

Andy rose out of her sleeping back slowly and made her way over to Chris and took Gordie's old spot. Andy looked at Chris.

"You heard it all?" Chris asked offhandedly.

"Yeah," Andy answered, and then started, "Look, I'm so sorry about what I said to you earlier. You were just trying to help, and helping isn't bad. You weren't trying to do it because I'm a girl and stuff like that. You did it because you were concerned about me. The helping trait comes from what you never got, and it's great that you can recognize that. And Chris: you can _never _end up like your father. Maybe Eyeball, but not you. You're different."

Chris gave her a small smile, but nevertheless, it was that same sweet and sunny grin she had always come to know and love.

"Hey, it's alright. I know you're a hard hothead," Chris's eyes then misted over, seeming as if a new fresh batch of tears were about to pour out of them, "I never want to end up like my father. Or my mother, or my brother. Nah, none of them. But fuck, it's gonna happen, huh?"

"How do you know that? Anything can happen."

"Oh don't pull that sappy line. You know it, I know it, Gordie knows it, the whole _world _knows it! I'm gonna sign up for the college courses and those school system douche bags will be sitting around drinking their coffee, looking at papers of different students and they'll say 'Kay, 'kay, this is a good student. There's a student from the view, that one's goin' in. Oh wait, we got that ol' no good Chambers kid signed up, no way is he getting in.' And then they'll throw my résumé in the garbage, and they'll put me up for the shop courses with all the retards and social idiots. Yeah, and then thirty years from now I'm gonna be sitting in a bar, drowning myself in beer and whiskey, wondering when my car's gonna get fixed in the shop and when will be the next time I have sex with my wife. Andy, that's the way it goes."

Tears were now silently flowing down Chris's cheeks again.

"No…no it can't," Andy responded shakily, "'Ain't nobody who can drag you down except for yourself."

"And your friends," Chris added, "Me and Teddy and Vern, we've been dragging Gordie down. And you, you're starting to fall a little too. The sooner we're put in the shop courses, the better it'll get for you two."

"No Chris. I'm not letting you go. Maybe Vern and Teddy can go, but not you. You actually have potential, I know you can do it man. Gordie knows too. You are gonna be something. And when I mean something, I mean something important, something great. Not that lowlife Chambers kid shit you and everyone else in Castle Rock is feeding the non-believers. Hell Chris, you're going somewhere. And it doesn't matter where. Just as long as you get out of Castle fucking Rock," Andy replied firmly and steadily.

Chris gave her a small smile. "Fine. Why not give it a shot? It's not like anything will change if they don't accept me anyways…." Chris paused, and then turned to her, and confessed, "You know….I always wanted to be a lawyer. I thought it would be something I'd be good at it. I'd get to help people in the way that I can."

Now it was Andy's turn to smile. "You can do it, man. It's all possible, nothings out of your reach. I'm proud of you. You won't regret trying it. Just know that I'm not gonna let you be dragged down by other people. By no one. You and Gordie are getting out of this hellhole."

"Heh, whatever you say," Chris responded, rather happier and playful now, "Oh…and do you know that I used to have a crush on you?"

Andy froze and then turned her head more to him slowly. "What?"

"Yeah….but after your little speeches that you gave, I just realized that I can't like you."

"And why's that?" Andy asked curiously.

"Because," Chris answered, "You're too good of a friend to lose over those stupid things."

"And the same goes for you," Andy agreed, "Hey, do you want me to take my watch now? You need some sleep, you look like a fucking train wreck."

"Are you using that pun on purpose?"

"No…." she answered, suddenly realizing what had rolled off of her tongue, "But seriously, give me the gun and go to sleep. Please."

"Alright," Chris decided, standing up and handing her the gun.

As he sat down to take off his shoes so he could get into his sleeping bag, Andy studied him.

"Hey Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"You're gonna be a great lawyer."

"Thanks," Chris replied, slipping into his sleeping bag and soon falling asleep with that sunny sweet smile on his face.


	7. He Only Cares About Leeches and Himself

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. A little reminder: if it seems like Andy acts older than she should be, that's because she's older than the boys. The boys are 12 going on 13, and she is 13 going on 14.

The sun began to rise. Andy cocked her head at the beautiful sight in front of her. She loved sunrises and sunsets. Somehow, in a weird twisted way to her, they showed how pure and breathtaking the world could actually be. She never got enough proof of the world being a great place; everything and everyone seemed to be screaming at her constantly, "No, the world sucks and it sucks to live here and it sucks to be alive and it sucks to be trapped in this hellhole we call Earth!". But now, as she sat on the railroad tracks, staring at the sun rising, she felt "the butterfly effect" in her stomach. Everything was perfect. The sunrise washed away her unwanted emotions and sculpted her desired ones.

"Mmmm….soldier, finish your pie!"

Andy had to stick her whole fist in her mouth to keep herself from bursting out laughing from Teddy's sleep talk. He had been doing that for awhile, and how he continued to say the most hilarious things, she never knew. Sometimes she had the strangest suspicion that he was doing it on purpose.

"Suther, what the hell could possibly be so funny at 4:30 in the morning?"

Andy whipped her auburn head around. Gordie was making his way towards her, stumbling up the hill in a sleepy manner. He plopped down on the rail next to her, rubbed his eyes hard, and looked at the sky.

Andy shifted her eyes back and forth between him and the rising sun. Now more than ever, she was starting to feel apprehensive around him. She honestly felt bad that she had liked him as more of a friend. She felt as if she had a duty to keep Gordie with her always, and she knew that if she liked him in that way and something happened, he'd never speak to her again. Besides, she _was _a tomboy and Gordie's best friend, wouldn't it look like she was starting to go girly? But there was just a glimmer of hope and pleading inside of her that was begging for her to stay like her old self and let Gordie like her. God how she wanted him to like her….

"Do I belong in a sunrise too, Gordie?" Andy asked him, with no trace of sarcasm or mocking.

Gordie didn't dare look at her. He kept his huge brown eyes focused on the sun. "Yeah, yeah you do," Gordie answered, pretending to consider, "There's some auburn in the sunrise too."

Andy now looked at him full on. Why _not _try and see what Gordie's feelings are? It was only Gordie, her best friend in the world; it wasn't like he was going to parade her feelings around to the entire school. He understood everything, and he'd forgive her. Why couldn't she just try?

"I heard you talking to Chris last night," Andy began, coming from a far-off approach.

"Yeah, let's not talk about that. It's between me and Chris," Gordie told her.

"I talked to him too, you know," Andy snapped, her voice getting deeper like it always did when she was annoyed, "And he said he'd give the college courses a shot."

Gordie seemed to perk up at the news. This was totally unexpected. He had succeeded in getting Chris to start his new life! "No shit?"

"No shit man, honest. He wants to try."

Gordie smiled. "That's my boy."

Andy laughed. Gordie wasn't _gay_, was he?

They became silent, and stared at the sunrise. What was the deal with silence lately? That same quietness from last night came creeping back, and it was weird. Andy had to think of something else to say, or nothing would happen.

"You know," Andy started, still gazing at the sunrise, "Everything's about giving someone a chance. Everyone deserves a chance, even if it is only one. Like Chris, he deserves a chance. _I _deserve a chance. _You_ deserve a chance."

"Wait," Gordie interrupted, his eyes now on her, "What do I need a chance for? What do you need a chance for?"

"Gordo, you really need a chance man. From your parents. Your parents need to open their eyes up and see what a great son they still have. You and Denny were both great. You still are. They just don't see it, and they need to give you a chance, now more than ever," Andy informed him firmly.

Gordie's eyes misted over and he crossed his arms. She had to bring Denny into it. Everyone _always _had to bring Denny into every single little thing, even things he had nothing to do with. Did she remember that the slightest mention of Denny could drive him berserk? Did she even _care_?

"You don't know a thing about Denny," Gordie snarled, swiping his eyes, "Not a thing at all. Everyone just saw him as "The Athlete", or "The Jock", or something. But you know, he wasn't just an All American football star. He was so much more than that, but no one else saw it either, so I guess you're not alone. But he did a lot more than play football and make good grades. He was the only one who cared for me. Now there's no one here for me anymore."

"No, don't say that," Andy ordered, "Don't you _dare _say something like that! Yes, I know Denny cared for you a lot, he loved you so much Gordie. He probably loved you even more than he loved my sister. You meant so much to him. It might feel like no one else cares for you since he died, but people do. Chris cares about you more than he cares about anyone, you are special to him. _I _care for you."

"How much?" Gordie asked, his voice quiet, "A lot?"

"You have no idea," she answered bitterly, "And I suppose you never will."

"Why?" Gordie asked, becoming more curious, "You can't tell me how much you care for me?"

Andy grabbed a rock and threw it hard, surprised at how arrogant that had sounded. "I can, I guess. But you're too worried about yourself though, aren't you? When are you ever gonna ask if anyone else is ok?"

"Hey, I asked if Chris was ok last night!" Gordie exclaimed, like he couldn't believe Andy was accusing him.

"That's not good enough!" Andy lectured, "You're saying 'Oh no one cares about me anymore! Oh no!' Blah blah blah! Gordie I like you and all man but…._get over yourself!_"

Andy scowled to herself. Why did he have to go ruin things like that? He was always talking about how no one ever appreciated him. It's not like he was doing anything at the moment that would call for appreciation! Anger was rushing through her veins.

"Andy! Come _on_, I just-"

"You'll never know how much I care!"

"Andy-"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Andy-"

"I've done nothing but good for you, and what do I get in return?"

"Andy-"

"IT'S BECAUSE I LIKE YOU, OKAY!" Andy screamed at Gordie.

Gordie scooted away from her, but his big brown eyes were wide with shock. She…she _liked _him! And he just went and ruined it. Great job Gordo.

Andy stood up angrily. He wasn't worth her time anymore.

"Fuck you," she sneered, and then spit at his feet.

She turned on her heel and stomped back over to the campsite, where the other three boys were still sleeping. She flopped down on her sleeping bag, and pounded her fists onto it. She wanted to hit him so bad…. But honestly, how could he do this to her? She had helped him through so much already, and he still had a long way to go to recuperate after the death of his older brother. But he just stepped all over her, and told her flat out that she didn't care, and that she never would. Now he knew that she liked him. And she couldn't really give a damn.

* * *

"Andy, Andy, Andy!"

"She's dead, I know it!" came the voice of Vern, "She looks dead!"

Andy opened her eyes weakly. She had barely gotten enough sleep, and she felt like the sun was going to make her into a raisin. Vern, Teddy, and Chris were all crouched down in a circle above her head, making her a little dizzy.

"Wow, she's sweating up a storm. Must be dreaming about me," Teddy concluded with a smirk.

"Andy, are you alright?" Chris asked worriedly, his hand on her forehead.

"What happened?" Andy questioned, starting to sit up. Her somewhat sickness began to leave her as she did so.

"Well, actually nothing," Chris admitted, "But the train passed by, and you didn't wake up, so we -oh sorry, correction- _I _was worried about you."

"I was worried too," a voice grumbled from behind.

There was the two-faced son of a bitch himself, standing in the background, his arms folded, but his adorable brown eyes concerned.

"Anyway, you alright?"

"Yeah…I dunno why I'm sweating…"

"You did _not _have sex behind our backs, did you?" Teddy mock gasped, putting his hand to his mouth.

"Come on, Teddy, knock it off," Gordie ordered, "It must have been the sun. It's beating down pretty hard now."

"Yeah," Chris agreed, "That's why we better start going. The longer we wait, the worse it's going to be later on."

Everyone nodded, and got their stuff packed up. They got on the train tracks and began to walk again. As Gordie started to walk past Andy, she rammed her shoulder into his.

"Oh, I'm sorry, didn't see you," Andy apologized sarcastically through her teeth.

"No need to apologize, I don't _care_," Gordie seethed.

Chris turned around and asked, "Is anything going on between you two?"

"Nothing at all," they both answered in unison.

Chris raised an eyebrow at Gordie and turned back around.

* * *

"Gentlemen, the Royal," Chris pointed out, as if he were introducing everybody to the river, "Oh, and lady," he added, noticing Andy's glare, "If we go across the field right here we'll be there in an hour."

"I think we should stick to the tracks," Vern put in.

"_I_ say we go across the field," Teddy said, dignified.

"Field," Andy told them simply.

Once they got Gordie's approval, Teddy's "TAKE NO PRISONERS!" cry, and Vern's final feeble attempt to talk them out of it, they all raced across the field and entered the swamp. Castle Rock wasn't usually full of swamps, and as dirty as the group were, they didn't go into swamps often. But this was just miserable. Vern actually seemed rather smug, because he was actually right about something…..for once.

"I hate this shortcut," Vern declared.

"I hate this shortcut!" Teddy copied, mocking Vern in a babyish voice.

Vern proceeded to put his hand in front of Teddy's face, and it was the happiest Andy had ever seen him on the whole trip.

"HAHA! YOU FLINCHED, TWO FOR FLINCHING!"

And as Teddy hit Vern twice on the arm, Vern looked confused and scared.

"But, you flinched!"

"I know, two for flinching," Teddy told him smugly, walking on.

Soon, the group came up to a dreaded pool of swampy water.

"Great, how are we going to get across this?"

Chris broke a stick off of a low hanging tree and stuck it in the water.

"Hey you guys, it's not that deep," Chris informed, "We can walk across."

As the five of them stepped into the swamp, they all fell into the water. They all stuck their heads out, shivering.

"Told you we should have stuck to the tracks," Vern scowled.

Teddy turned to him slowly and asked, "Is it me, or are you the World's Biggest Pussy?"

"And I suppose this is fun for you?"

"No…but this is!"

Teddy jumped up and dunked Vern's head under the water, leaving Vern gasping for air, and Teddy laughing his head off.

"Come on, Teddy, act your own age!" Chris ordered.

"This is my age! I'm in the prime of my youth, and I'll only be young once!"

"Yeah, but you're gonna be stupid for the rest of your life!"

Soon, Chris, Teddy, and Vern were all dunking each other in the water, laughing and splashing around, having a great time. Andy began to tread water, staring at them, until Chris brought her into it. Soon, she began to have fun with them, but she couldn't help but notice Gordie walking off to the other side.

They all ended up following Gordie and tackling him, even Andy. Sure, she was angry with him, but that didn't mean that she would pass up an opportunity to lie on top of him. Whoa. Her hormones were really starting to kick in.

"Hey Vern, there's something on your neck," Gordie warned.

"Yeah, like I'm falling for that one Lachance!"

"No Vern, there is something on your neck!" Chris exclaimed.

"It's a leech….LEECHES!" Teddy screamed.

Then everyone screamed and scrambled off of each other and onto the shore. Clothes began to fly off, and Andy didn't care. She'd rather walk around in her underwear and bra forever than have leeches on her. But it had to be the most disgusting thing that had happened to her. She pulled the leeches off quickly, and got Teddy to do her back. She double checked herself, and just as soon as they were on, they were off. She breathed a deep, shaky breath and looked around at everyone else. Apparently, they were all ok. They were ok, and they were staring at her. Her in only her bra and underwear.

"Holy shit girl, why have you been hiding _that _from us?" Teddy said eagerly, his eyes moving up and down.

"Whoa. How'd you get those?" Vern asked.

"Shut up!" Andy commanded, and she turned to Chris, "Chris…come on…"

Chris gave her a weak smile. "Damn…" he muttered under his breath.

"Oh Chris!" a voice suddenly squeaked, "Oh shit Chris, oh shit man!"

The other four turned and saw Gordie, and they realized where that last leech was. Gordie was breathing heavy, his face full of panic. His adorable brown eyes widened at Andy and pleaded with her to help. But she couldn't. No one could. Gordie was on his own. He reached down into his underwear, and suddenly there it was, in his hand. The leech burst in his fingers, blood spewing all over his hand. He stared at his fingers hard, and suddenly…he hit the ground.

Andy was the first to reach him, Chris coming right behind her. She felt like crying, something she rarely did. She felt so bad for him. They knelt down next to Gordie, and Teddy and Vern kept bickering.

"Wow, I never met anybody who fainted before," Vern breathed, while Gordie's eyes were beginning to open.

"Maybe he made a bad mistake and looked at your face!"

"Shut up Teddy!" Chris and Andy ordered in unison.

"You ok, Gordie?" Chris asked him as his eyes opened wider. He grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him up.

"Gordie, Gordie, are you sure you are alright?" Andy asked worriedly.

Gordie just looked at her. She couldn't decipher what was in his face at that moment. But his look just mesmerized her, and left her wondering for a long time after what he was feeling while he did this. But it was the biggest mix of love and hate she had ever seen. And that was the way she felt at the moment.


	8. The NonPerfectionist that is Eyeball

A/N: ALL MY PEOPLE! HOW ARE YALL? I APOLOGIZE SO MUCH, 3 MONTHS! I hope you guys will still read. Basically, this is the worst chapter of the story, in my opinion and it's just a little filler for the Cobras to bring us to a close with the ending scene (which is next chapter). I probably won't have the next chapter out until like…..June 1st or something like that. I'm sorry guys, I've got exams to cram for! EEK But anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Jane and added dialogue to other people only thing I own.

The minute Jane's eyes flew open, her hands traveled to her temples. Instantly, a migraine erupted inside her head. What a perfect way to start the day! But after dressing in a very short, seductive skirt and tank top…….she realized she had no one to wear it for. Her parents were rather aloof when it came to Jane, but not with Andrica. Andrica. God, sometimes she loathed that kid with all of her might. Yet, thinking about it, Andy was the only person she could really turn to now. But no, she had to be out on her silly little camping trip with her boys. Lucky little brat, she still had real friends. Including a Lachance. The only person to go to was Ace……or was it?

Suddenly, Eyeball Chambers popped into her mind. Honestly, she had never given Eyeball that much thought. She just hung around with him constantly because he was Ace's best friend. But the more she began to hang around with him, the more he was starting to grow on her. Jane couldn't place it, but there was certainly something that separated Eyeball from the rest of the Cobras. Was it because Eyeball had an eye problem? Was it because he was the only one of them that could look decent in a white t-shirt? No….she was thinking too small.

But then thinking about the words "problem", "white t-shirt", and "small", surprisingly Christopher Chambers flashed into her mind. Why, she had no idea, she barely knew the kid. But somehow, with the way Andy would sometimes describe him to her, she knew Chris's personality traits. And suddenly Jane realized: Eyeball was getting a little bit more like Chris. Very, very, very, very, very, very, very, tiny baby steps towards it, of course, but steps nonetheless. It was because he was the only one of the Cobras who began to show even a little bit of concern for her and her feelings. He was starting to question her about it too.

Maybe she could go find Eyeball and hang out. Alone.

* * *

Jane spotted him fishing on the Castle Rock Bridge by himself. She stepped timidly towards him.

"Hi," she greeted.

Eyeball whipped his head around, and since his mind is so small that he cannot multi-task, he almost dropped the fishing pole into the river.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, grabbing it just in time.

"Umm, what's going on?" Jane asked awkwardly, stepping next to him.

"What does it look like? I'm fishin'. And waiting for Billy to get here, that fucker takes forever. And he's been actin' like a bigger freak than usual lately. Do you know what's up with that?" Eyeball questioned conversationally.

"No," Jane answered, and then looked down at the river.

Sure, Billy was acting a little weirder than usual, but so was Eyeball right now. But then she remembered: she had screamed her head off at him after he had driven her away from Ace and the rest of the Cobras. After he had mocked Denny. The fire in her struck up again, but only for a second. She recalled that what she said to him was a lot worse than what he said to her.

"Eyeball, I'm sorry. About yesterday. I….I didn't mean to go off on you like that. It's just…just," Jane struggled, "You know how I felt and still feel about Denny. I just don't want to see him get mocked like that. It ain't right, you know? But I hammered you harder than I really meant to. And I'm really sorry for that."

After a moment's hesitation, Eyeball responded with an "oh" and turned away.

Was that it? After she thoroughly apologized?

"Look Eyeball, I apologized. If you still wanna be sore about it and be a goddam girl be my guest-"

"Do you know why I made fun of Denny? Do you?" Eyeball demanded, his voice an odd mixture of anger and pain, "I was fucking _jealous_. It's 'cuz Denny was this perfect guy, you know right? And he did every goddam thing perfectly, like all perfect guys do. And he had this perfect reputation and perfect family, like all of those fucking perfect guys do, right? I actually understood I couldn't be perfect 'cause of my family 'cause of ol' Denny. It's just….no one could ever look at me the way they looked at that guy, you know? Everyone loved him, and fuck, no one loves me. Denny just had this pretty boss life, and I don't have shit. When I said sumthin like, "He's the perfect dream guy" or whatever, it's 'cuz I can't be a dream guy to anyone, 'cause no one wants me around like they did him, you know?"

Jane gave a very shaky and unsteady sigh. Denny was going rough on _everyone_, even people who were his polar opposites. And it was at this moment, that for the first time in history, someone felt sorry for Eyeball Chambers. But it was more than just feeling sorry. Jane suddenly felt this deep admiration for him….a place for him somewhere in her heart.

Jane did the only thing she could do. She kissed him. He kissed her back. She kissed him back. It was a war between the tongues. Her hands sank deep into the back pockets of his jeans, and he pulled her in closer by her waist. God, she was in pure ecstasy! Even Ace Merrill couldn't compare with Eyeball.

"Hey Eyeball, hey Jane," Billy Tessio greeted casually, who randomly appeared right next to them, his pole already in the water.

Jane broke away quickly, though Eyeball was left lingering for a moment.

"Hey Billy, what's up?"

"Umm…..uhhh…….."

Jane tilted her head and asked, "Billy, what's the matter?"

"Hey Eyeball?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that Brower kid?"

"Yeah."

"Well I'm could tell you something about him, but you gotta swear on your mother's good name you're not gonna tell nobody."

* * *

Jane sat impatiently in the back of Ace's car, while Eyeball, Vince, Fuzzy, and Jack were waiting around Eyeball's car. This was so stupid. They were going to go get a dead twelve year old's body, bring it back to Castle Rock, and get paid a fortune. Well, the story went like this. At around the same time Billy was telling the whole thing to Eyeball and Jane, Charlie just happened to be telling the same thing to Ace at Irvy's Billiard Hall. And let's just say Ace and Eyeball don't really have too much respect for their mothers. And here they were, getting ready to go. Good thing Charlie and Billy knew where the body was. Yeah, right. The only reason they were doing this was so they could make a fortune. Oh, correction. So _Ace_ could make a fortune. What an asshole.

Speaking of the asshole, he came out of his house carrying fishing gear, Charlie and Billy following at his heels like dogs on leashes. But soon, Charlie and Billy began to pull back on the leashes a little.

"Hey, listen Ace. Maybe me 'n Charlie shouldn't go," Billy suggested.

"Yeah. Maybe you can go without us," Charlie agreed.

Ace put the fishing gear in the back with Jane, and then turned around to face the two, leaning back on his car casually.

"You guys are actin' like my grandmother havin' a conniption fit," Ace declared, "I don't see your problem. We go up with a whole bunch of fishing gear, and if a cop asks us what were doin'----- we're just here to take a couple of Steelhead out of the river, and look what we found!"

"Yeah man, we're gonna be famous!" Vince egged on, "We'll be on every famous radio and TV show in the country!"

"For finding a dead body?" Jane cut in, "Good fucking luck."

Ace whipped his head around. He didn't do anything physically to her…..but his eyes were beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. They were cold, ice eyes, even though Jane could see why they should be red instead. He was such a scary looking person.

"I still don't think we should go," Billy said.

"Ok, ok," Ace started calmly, "You've stated your position clearly. And now I'm gonna state mine: get in the fucking car. NOW!"

Billy and Charlie looked at each other, terrified, and then jumped into the car. The other Cobras excitedly got in their car. As Ace started up the engine, Jane leaned forward.

"You know, Sexy isn't driving anymore."

Ace didn't respond, but sped towards the Castle Rock Bridge.

* * *

The two cars were now speeding down a two-lane highway side by side, trying to beat each other in a game called chicken. Vince versus Ace. Vince was the chicken, without a doubt, but he was still determined.

"No way Ace, not this time man, no way!"

"Go for it Vince, go for it!" Ace taunted.

Suddenly, the whole group spotted an oncoming truck coming down in Ace's lane, carrying lumber.

"I got him, I got him!" Vince exclaimed.

Charlie looked nervously at the truck, but then smiled.

"Fall back, Ace."

"Yeah don't fuck around man," Billy agreed.

But Ace didn't stop. And neither did the truck. Jane felt as if this was in slow motion and on the way to a slow and painful death.

"Jesus Christ Ace, fall back!" Charlie shouted.

"Ace, come on!" Jane screamed, "Fuck give me the fucking wheel!"

Jane made a great grab for it but Ace hit her in the face, pushing her backwards into her own seat. And soon, the truck swerved to the side of the road, falling sideways with all of the lumber falling out of place. Ace quickly sped up and pulled in front of Vince. Jane was positively shaking, Billy and Charlie just stared, and the group in Eyeball's car were freaking out.

"I won," Ace said calmly, even almost to himself.

"You won? You won _what_? You could have lost me and Charlie and Billy our _lives_, you fucking idiot!" Jane yelled.

"But I didn't. I won. Ace Merrill never loses."

Jane looked over in the next car at Eyeball, who was laughing obnoxiously and saying something about Vince being a cock-knocker. Whatever the hell that was.

"You never lose?" Jane muttered under her breath, "Oh I wish I could tell you how wrong you are. You lost me."


	9. Confrontation, Realizations, Changes

A/N: Why hello! I **_greatly _**apologize for not writing more of this story soon enough, and this is the last chapter! I guess this was kind of a mini-story….but yeah. I kind of wish I had put more into this mini-story, I'm really sorry. But anyway, thanks to all of my reviewers of this story, and sorry to keep you waiting! Thanks for EVERYTHING! I give you THE FINALE!

Disclaimer: It's so fine but it ain't mine. Except for Andy, Jane, and stuff not in the movie.

* * *

Andy and the boys had finally made it to the Back Harlow Road. The wind was blowing fiercely, and it looked like it was going to pour. Andy shivered lightly. The area was so creepy.

After the whole leech incident and a debate over whether to take Gordie back, he decided to take charge. He spoke to no one but claimed that he was not going to go back to Castle Rock. Andy knew how determined he was to see this body. But why, out of everyone, would Gordie want to see the body? She was very curious, but she had no clue.

"Teddy?" Gordie asked.

"Yeah?"

"Is this the Back Harlow Road?"

Teddy looked around slowly. For the first time, he seemed quiet. "Yeah."

Chris' eyes widened. "That Brower kid must be around here someplace. Teddy, you and Vern check the left side of the tracks and we'll check the right."

So Teddy and Vern started searching the left side while Andy looked on the right with Chris and Gordie. With every step farther she took down the road, the more anxious she was that she could possibly see the body of a dead kid. She could feel her stomach lurching and her eyes were searching frantically. She was nervous.

"Look there he is!" Vern cried, "I see him, I see him!"

The rest of the group raced over to Vern and stopped. A river was flowing by behind the woodland area. And there was a bush. A huge bush that almost looked like a tree that had fallen down. Andy spotted the shoes. Somewhere in those bushes was Ray Brower. Chris suddenly pushed ahead, and the gang followed him. They all came to a screeching halt as they could see his body, his arms and legs crooked and hanging on branches and tree limbs. Bugs of all sorts were swarming the area, trying to get a piece of the dead boy. Chris tentatively picked up a stick and started lifting up branches and moving them. And then they saw his face. His electric blue eyes were open in shock and scare. His mop of black hair was matted with dried blood. The liquid had dripped also from his nose and his mouth. He was, with no pun intended, a train wreck.

Andy wanted to scream. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Nothing needed to be said. They all stared down at the boy. In that instant they could feel an emotion they had rarely ever felt: nostalgia. It made them all think about how suddenly a life could end, and at any given time. And after that, that was it. You were dead, and you didn't come back. And suddenly, Andy felt as if she hadn't lived enough. She knew that this boy who was now lying dead before her didn't. It made her think. It made her realize that none of them had treasured anything they had: each other. It made her realize that you had to treasure moments before they were gone, which they could be even before death took over. Treasure the moments you had with other people you loved. And she knew that she had never really given treasuring moments between her four boys much thought.

"Let's gather some long branches," Chris ordered finally, his voice grave, "We'll build him a stretcher."

Everyone made moves to go and grab branches except for Gordie. Andy studied him curiously. His face was pretty much unreadable. But it was in that moment that Andy felt something deep for him. Forget the anger, forget the supposed selfishness, forget everything awful. Although she had always known, it was now so much clearer in that instant: Gordie was hurting. Bad. Gordie had never really _expressed _his feelings, at least to not to a point where everyone around him was swarming him with "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"s and "OH MY GOSH, GORDIE!"s. But no one had ever done that with him anyway. She suddenly realized exactly _why _Gordie was hurting. He felt like he was invisible to _everyone_. And he didn't even say anything. It was just the look on his face. It was plain as day, right there, and Andy didn't know how she never saw it before. It had always been on his face, in his eyes, in his smile. It had always been there.

"Why did you have to die?" Gordie whispered to Ray Brower.

Andy didn't even have to think for a second about whom he was really questioning.

"What's the matter with Gordie?" Vern asked curiously.

"Erm…nothing," Chris answered hesitantly, "Why don't you guys just go look for some branches, ok?"

"Yeah," Andy responded in a low tone, "Of course."

She led Teddy and Vern away and a little ways up back towards the tracks. They bent down looking for branches, pretending that they couldn't hear Gordie and Chris's conversation.

"He hates me…."

"No. He just doesn't know you."

"He hates me, my dad hates me!" Gordie's voice cried out, his voice cracking from the pain, "My dad hates me, I'm no good!"

Andy had to turn away from Teddy and Vern. She breathed shakily, a few tears slipping from her eyes. She didn't want to see him like this. She wished that she could take all of his suffering away. She wished….she wished she could be in his position. She would gladly do anything to give her best friend at least a fraction of happiness. Somehow she managed to shut out the rest of the conversation, wanting to leave Gordie and Chris to their privacy.

Suddenly, Andy heard loud rustling in the trees and bushes near her. She stood up and studied her surroundings closely. Her eyes scanned the area…..and then she saw it. That dyed blonde hair that looked like the color of Marilyn Monroe. Her eyes suddenly took all three of them in: the hair, the cold yet burning smile, the disgusting twitching eye. Andy turned her back on them and began to race back down towards Chris and Gordie, shoving Teddy and Vern along with her.

"You wasn't plannin' on taking the body from us, was ya boys?" Ace Merrill's sly voice drawled.

Chris flung himself from his sitting position on a log next to Gordie and stood next to Andy, Teddy and Vern on his other side.

"You get away man," Chris ordered, shaking his head unbelievably, "We found him, we got dibs."

"Oooh we better start running Eyeball," Ace teased, "They got _dibs_!"

Eyeball let out a small chuckle, but Jane realized that in a regular situation, he would have laughed out loud so everyone in Castle Rock could hear him. Why was he suddenly holding back?

"We earned him man!" Chris claimed angrily, "You guys came in a car, that's not fair!"

"That's not fair, he's ours!" Eyeball mocked in a baby voice. There was the Eyeball she knew. "Well not anymore!"

"What makes you think that, asshole?" Andy questioned heatedly.

"There's five of us, Eyeball," Teddy told him knowingly, "You just make your move."

"Oh we will, don't cha know?"

And with that and a small snap of Ace's fingers, the rest of the Cobras entered the picture. Usually there were only seven, but to Andy it seemed like there were a thousand, coming in slow motion, one by one. She breathed heavily.

"Vern, you little son of a whore!" Charlie yelled, taking notice to the boy, "You was under the porch!"

Vern's dark blue eyes widened, probably envisioning whipping after whipping, smack after smack, punch after punch, kick after kick. He held his hands up in defense.

"No, I swear, it wasn't me!"

"You key-hole peepin' bung-wipe, I oughta beat the livin' shit outta you!" Billy roared, taking off his belt quickly and storming towards Vern.

Vern gave a little cry, turned, and ran off towards a hill behind them, Ace signaling Billy to stop as he was doing so.

"Now, you guys have two choices," Ace bargained calmly, a cold smile resting on his face, "You either leave quietly and we take the body. Or you stay, we beat the shit out of you—and we take the body."

"Giving _us _too much opportunity, don't you think, Ace?" Andy asked sarcastically.

"Besides," Charlie piped up, "Me and Billy found him first!"

"Yeah Vern told us how you found him. _Oh Billy! I wish we never boosted that car!_" Teddy mimicked in an outrageous baby voice. Andy would have laughed her head off if the situation wasn't so serious. Now she wanted to stick duck tape on his mouth. Did he _want _to get them killed? "_Oh Billy! I think I just turned my Fruit of the Looms into a fudge factory! Oh_—"

"That's it, your ass is grass!" Charlie claimed angrily.

"Hold it," Ace commanded quietly before Charlie could make a move. He then turned his attention towards Chris. "Ok Chambers, you little faggot. This is your last chance. What do you say kid?"

Chris kept his narrowing, ocean colored eyes on Ace and his one eyebrow slightly cocked as he retorted without missing a beat, "Why don't you go home and fuck your mother some more?"

Ace stared at Chris hard for a few seconds, and without even looking, flipped open a switchblade. "_You're dead_!"

Andy thought she was going to throw up as Ace started towards them menacingly. But all she could concentrate on was that knife, shining brightly despite the weather. She could see it in her head slow motion: Ace suddenly stabbing Chris in the stomach, or….her dream came back to her. _In the throat_!

"Come on Chris, let's split," Teddy told him panicky.

"They're not taking him," Chris stated, seeming to be hypnotized by the switchblade.

"Come on Chris, this is crazy!" Teddy claimed softly, but still trying to convince his friend.

"They're not taking him," Chris repeated in the same monotone.

"He's got a knife man, shit!" Teddy exclaimed, letting go of Chris's left shoulder and running off in the same direction as Vern had.

A brief moment of silence as Ace continued to advance towards Chris, until:

"Ace, come on man," Eyeball tried to persuade feebly.

But to Jane it didn't matter how feeble the attempt turned out. It mattered that he _attempted_. He cared for someone. Eyeball Chambers cared for his little brother. But now, she had to care.

"Ace, stop, this is insane!" Jane exclaimed.

Ace ignored them both and continued to slowly make his way towards Chris.

"You're gonna have to kill me Ace," Chris told him, his voice shaking yet triumphant.

Andy's heart leapt. Chris wasn't letting any of them down, including himself. He was sticking by everything they had done. He wasn't letting anything go to waste. He was standing by everything that had happened.

"You're gonna have to kill _both _of us," Andy corrected, grabbing Chris' arm tightly.

She wasn't letting him go down on his own. They were all in this together.

"No problem," Ace replied menacingly, and he seized the collar of Chris' shirt in the next second. Andy made a reach for the hand carrying the switchblade and actually caught Ace's arm, digging her nails deeply into it. Ace managed to easily break free of her grasp and punch her in the face with the side of his fist, cutting her some with the switchblade yet still holding Chris with no effort. Andy fell backwards, but didn't fall. She tried to make her way back to Ace, but it was too late. Ace took a better hold of Chris in his left hand, held the switchblade to his neck, and—

_**KA-BLAM!** _

That had to be the most beautiful sound that Andy could have heardat that moment. Ace let go of Chris eagerly, and stepped back. Andy turned around, and saw Gordie lowering the pistol from the air, an expression of deepest loathing on his face. Yet, the rest of his body looked pale as he stepped forward, the pistol pointed directly at Ace. All of the energy throughout his body seemed to be packaged together and was now blazing immensely out of his usually soft doe brown eyes.

"You're not taking him," Gordie told Ace in a steady voice, stepping between Andy and Chris bravely, "Nobody's taking him."

"Come on kid. Just give me the gun before you take your foot off," Ace commanded quietly, sizing Gordie up, "You ain't got the sack to shoot a woodchuck."

Gordie didn't make any movements, but kept the gun and his voice firm. "Don't move, Ace. I'll kill you, I swear to God."

"Come on Lachance, give me the gun," Ace drawled, "You must have _some _of your brother's good sense."

Jane soon became in pain, putting her hands to her face. She knew Denny was going to come into this somehow, but she was never prepared for when anyone mentioned him. She wanted to sob and kill Ace all at one time. But she knew that she couldn't. At least not now. Now. The present. The present was awful. The past was better. She had Denny in the past. Sure, the past was great but…..she could never go back to the past. It was only in her memory now. Sure, the present was terrible but…..why not try to make it better? Why should she have to live in this misery, in this darkness? She shouldn't. There was nothing stopping her from breaking free from the chains of the past. Denny wasn't an obstacle. Now, since he couldn't be here, he wanted to let her go. He wanted to let her live her life, with or without him. He really didn't have a choice.

Gordie, on the other hand, didn't falter even for a moment. Denny was always brought into everything, he knew that. Wherever he went, Denny followed, even in death. Was that even fair? What, exactly, was the point of bringing him up in Gordie's presence? Everyone did it. Did they want him to know that he was a failure in their eyes? But…..no, he wasn't a failure. He was a fighter. He fought for himself more than his parents ever had to for themselves. He fought against _them_. He fought against _everyone_: his parents, his relatives, the Cobras, his classmates, the school, the entire town. And he didn't want to admit it: but he was fighting himself. One side was fighting the other fiercely. One part of him begged for him to stay in pain, to mourn forever over the loss of his big brother: the only person who he felt had ever cared. But was that really true? What about Chris, what about Andy? The other part of him wanted to break away, to screw what everyone else thought about Denny. This was _Gordie _Lachance. He could….he could do anything he wanted to. Denny wouldn't want his memory to prevent that. And he didn't want it either.

Although he didn't show it, Gordie was still genuinely shocked when he cocked the pistol, aimed at Ace's face, and vehemently retorted, "Suck my fat one, you cheap dime store hood."

It was through that line, through his tone, that Andy knew he had broken his barrier. She knew that he would always miss his brother, but she also knew that he had a life of his own to lead. And now he was finally grasping it.

Ace looked over both of his shoulders, clearly shocked. "What are you gonna do—shoot us all?"

"No Ace," Gordie answered in that same voice, "Just you."

Ace paused, now even more stunned than before. With a signal of his head, the Cobras backed away, up and out of sight. Ace still stayed where he was, raising his switchblade to point at Gordie, Chris, and Andy.

"We're gonna get you for this."

"Maybe you will and maybe you won't," Chris replied simply.

"Oh we will," Ace reassured him, starting towards the tracks. But, he turned around. "We're not gonna forget this, if it's what you're thinking. This is _big-time_, baby."

And with that, Ace turned about face and sauntered to the tracks, soon out of sight. Gordie lowered the pistol slowly as Ace disappeared, looking weary, but his eyes never lost that gleam. Andy grabbed his shoulder tightly, giving it a huge, reassuring squeeze, telling him that he did good—no, not good. _Fantastic_.

"_Suck my fat one_?" Chris asked incredulously, "Who ever told you you had a fat one, Lachance?"

Gordie turned to his best friend, a proud smile on his face. "Biggest one in four counties."

Andy grinned tiredly. "You uh, won a contest or something?"

"Yeah," Chris answered for him with a chuckle.

And in that moment, Andy realized what had happened: when Ace and the Cobras had come, Gordie, Chris, and she had matured. Even Teddy and Vern had, despite running off. They'd shed their innocence. And when Chris brought up Gordie's fat one: they felt like they were kids again. But after Chris stopped chuckling, the feeling was gone.

Andy, Chris, and Gordie gathered around Ray Brower, Teddy and Vern soon joining them, coming out from their hiding places.

After a moment of silence, Vern asked Chris, "Are we gonna take him?"

But it was Gordie who responded. "No."

"But…but we came all this way," Teddy protested lamely, "We're supposed to be heroes."

Gordie looked at Teddy for a moment, then to Vern, to Andy, to Chris. Then he gave them all an apologetic, yet firm look.

"Not this way Teddy."

* * *

Once Ace made his way back up to the cars, Eyeball and Jane stormed towards him, Jane in front. She was angry…no, furious… no….she was outraged. She loathed Ace Merrill….she loathed him with everything she had left inside of her.

When she got to him, she pushed his chest, not caring what he would do to her in response.

"YOU FUCKING PRICK!" Jane screamed lividly, "YOU WERE GOING TO FUCKING KILL MY LITTLE SISTER! YOU SON OF A BITCH, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE DOING, YOU NEVER DO! AND YOU MENTIONED DENNY YOU COCKNOCKER!" It made her smile on the inside and Eyeball on the outside to use _his _word. "OH FUCK, I'M GONNA BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU!"

Ace furiously grabbed her arm, and pushed her forcefully, sending her to hit his car. "YOU LITTLE BITCH! DON'T YOU EVER FUCKING DO THAT AGAIN!"

He came towards her, but Eyeball hurriedly leapt in front of Jane. "No, Ace."

Ace cocked his head at Eyeball, his cold blue eyes widening, his eyebrows shooting upwards. "What did you say to me?"

Eyeball cleared his throat. "I said _no_, Ace, you mother-fucking…mother fucker!"

Ace didn't reply, but after a moment, took a swing at Eyeball. With a small yelp, Eyeball ducked, dragging Jane down with him. Ace immediately kicked his right black leather boot into Eyeball's stomach. Jane instantly stood up while Ace was looking down at Eyeball and smacked him hard across the face. Ace was about to slap her back, but Eyeball regained composure, stood up, grabbed Jane's wrist, and dragged her to Vince's car. He pushed her into the car, got in, started the engine, and raced away. Neither Eyeball nor Jane said anything as the car zoomed out of the woods. There was no need to say anything. Their emotions were the same, and they were grateful for each other in every way. But Jane decided that something did have to be said when they got on the main road.

"Pull over," Jane commanded, "Pull over someplace well-hidden."

"Jane, are you out of your fucking mind?" Eyeball asked incredulously, "Ace is probably on our tail, right now…"

"That's why I said well-hidden. Now do it."

Not wanting to displease her, Eyeball obeyed her wishes and in a few minutes pulled off of the road and into some trees. He parked the car and didn't move. What was going on here? Was Jane waiting for something to happen, someone to come?

Jane turned to him, smiling lovingly at him. He was….he wasn't what she had first thought he was. He wasn't perfect, but then again, no one was. Although the guy she had dated before his death was rumored to be perfect, she knew it wasn't true. And she didn't care what everyone else thought when they would see her and her non-perfectionist boyfriend together.

She leaned forward, put her hands around his neck and kissed him hard. She wanted him to know what she felt for him, and that she didn't care about what everyone thought. He half-smirked, half-smiled. He couldn't have asked for anything or anyone better. They continued to kiss passionately, heatedly, and hungrily. So what if Ace found them? He could do nothing about it, and neither could anyone else.

* * *

The group of five headed home in sheer silence. So many thoughts, so many questions, so many answers went through all of their minds, but they didn't speak. They knew that some day, their questions would have answers, their answers would have questions, and their thoughts would be shared.

They made it home to Castle Rock, Oregon a little past five on a Sunday morning, they day before Labor Day.

Entering the town, the town where everything had seemed so large, now seemed so small. There was more in the world than this little town. The five stopped in the street a little ways into town from the Castle Rock Bridge, with no one around. They let the silence linger a little longer between them, not really knowing what to say.

"Well," Vern shrugged, "See you in school."

"Yeah," Chris said.

"Yeah," Gordie repeated.

"See you," Andy told him.

"See ya in Junior High," Teddy told him, sounding a little depressed.

Vern turned and began to walk down another street. Suddenly, the rest of the gang saw him stop and picked something up. He held it up for them to see. "Penny!" He then turned and started walking away again.

"Well guys—I better get home before my mom puts me on the Ten Most Wanted List," Teddy informed despairingly.

He began to walk in the opposite direction of Vern, but then stopped. He seemed to ponder something for a minute or two, and then turned around. "Chris?"

All three looked up at him.

"No hard feelings, ok?"

Chris gazed at him for a moment, and then smiled. "No way man."

Teddy nodded and then continued on, singing The Ballad of Paladin, his voice fading as he did so.

Now it was just the three of them left. They all paused, not wanting to leave each other at such a time. They knew that something life-changing had occurred. They didn't know what, but they knew that they would figure it out sometime later in their lives. So they were put at ease. Andy looked back at her two best friends forlornly, like she had already left.

"Um…I suppose I should go…" she trailed off, "Uhh….I just want to say thanks for every single little thing you guys do. For me, for yourselves, for each other. Just…..thank you."

Chris smiled and gave her into a huge, tight hug. "Your welcome," he whispered in her ear. He pulled away and stepped back.

Andy and Gordie eyed each other carefully, wondering who was going to make the first move. It was Gordie. He stepped towards her and gave her an even tighter hug than Chris did.

"Thank _you _for everything. Without you and Chris I wouldn't have realized—"

"No need to say anything," Andy told him softly, then pulling away from the hug.

Then leaning forward and kissing him lightly on the lips. What surprised Andy was….he didn't recoil. He didn't move away. He moved forward. He kissed her back gently. Andy smiled as they kissed, but she soon pulled away. Good things can last forever….but great things only so much.

"Bye Chris," Andy told them, "Bye Gordie."

She trudged away slowly, not looking back.

* * *

When Andy entered the house, Jane was staring out a window, her eyes bloodshot, from her position at the wooden dining room table in the kitchen. She ambled towards her slowly. Jane turned her head towards her immediately, and soon did her whole body. Now from her place at the doorway of the kitchen, Andy ran to Jane and threw her arms around her tightly. Jane hugged her back, silently crying into her fiery red hair.

**_FIN_**


End file.
